I just want to share some photos from IFA, a major clean energy event happening now in Berlin.
Anker PR Reps Mary and Robert on stage at the Anker Booth.
C1000 with expansion battery … pretty exciting for the solar-powered camper!
Anker Innovations at IFA
Anker PR Reps Mary and Robert on stage at the Anker Booth.
C1000 with expansion battery … pretty exciting for the solar-powered camper!
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I really like the form factor of the c1000 and expansion. That looks like solid kit.
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Good to see some innovations in home backup power. We’ll need it!
I do though have a set of problems I can imagine and waiting for someone (Anker hopefully) can innovate an answer I’ve not yet thought of.
Global Warming is going to cause increased unpredictability, the planet has never warmed this fast before. It has been hotter in the past than we’re going to get, but we’re unique in we are a relatively young species who’s entire documented civilisation evolved during a little-change climate. So we’re probably not going to handle what is coming well. We’re not the wooly mammoth who evolved to become the elephant given thousands of years to adapt.
We’ve become reliant on technology. Technology is reliant on supply chains. Supply chains are reliant on everything running perfectly - manufacturing, transport, people+processes+technology.
While these Solix problems make one source of unreliability - power supply - a mitigated risk - you then become reliant on the Solix product.
So question to Anker: if an event interrupted the factory, and if your product failed, how could you self-repair? What’s the modularisation answer? You don’t have to answer now but you should think about that as basically if another pandemic scenario (or asteroid, comet, flood, fire,etc) were to happen, how could a consumer keep enjoying the benefits of a Solix product?
Hint: I don’t think Anker is even thinking about the scenario, just sell products and if they fail, well you’ve banked the money.
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From a manufactor perspective you don t want customers to open your electric products due possible damages, which could followup on property and even persons. I can totally understand that self repair is not in the focus here.
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If I have an defective item which is out of warranty I try to repair it.
I was often successful.
I remember the very first mobiles where the battery was really glued on the board.
Very difficult to take it out without damaging the board.
My last attempt was to repair a bike battery for my neighbour.
Could not be done.
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I can understand why Anker isn’t making a locally serviceable unit, making a “black box” with some high voltages kept within, for safety.
But it means you’re utterly reliant on local stocks and vastly complex global supply chain to keep working.
Power outages are more common when we have major disruptions. Major disruptions impacts everything including warranty replacement, shipping, etc. Lots of random events, like a pandemic, or a Icelandic volcano, or a boat stuck in the Sueze canal, all interrupt supply chains.
I’d encourage the Anker engineers to focus on modular self-service. Anker’s profits would increase.
If Anker could demonstrate, say, 30% of the cells can die but the unit still functions, albeit at a lower peak Watts and reduced Wh, or they can demonstrate you can hot-swap the PSU replacement (even if a screwdriver required), and a much smaller replacement is shipped, it can bolster the Anker green credentials.
I solve the problem with multiple Powercore, and having a generally fault-tolerant set of appliances (USB evaporative coolers instead of air conditioning, a fully packed freezer, a packed fridge with water, flashlights, Eufy motion-sensing battery lights, etc) but if Anker could punch harder the upper limits of both scale and modular reliability, it would stand out better in the marketplace, sell more.
Here to help.
Interesting perspective … as always! Thank you. I’ll be sure to share this in our internal chat.
By modular self-service, do you perchance mean the Anker SOLIX F3800? (Yes a UK version will be released.) I might be taking that definition too literally. Interested in your thoughts:)
The eufy Clean series is making me drool … I dislike house cleaning and dirty floors in equal measure:) Thanks for sharing!!!
Do you know my 11S , the famous Old Willy?
He works in our house here since many years.
Because I take care of him. he is absolutely thankful.
What I’m suggesting is
- the cells within are packed into 4 subsets each capable of being replaced by end user. If a pack fails you lose a quarter of the total capacity and Watts pending component replacement.
- the PSU is field replaceable.
- use common components so a Solix with double the capacity has double the components so local country warranty spares is minimised.
That way a whole unit isn’t replaced, what ships is a lot lighter and you get a mostly useful product pending a shipment, and less likely to be out of stock of a component.
There’s a storm passing through this evening and so this morning I simply recharged the 8 Powercore I have. At some point one of them will fail and if still in warranty I’d made a claim but that would involve an 1/8th of what I owned replaced/disposed.
Try to do the same for Powerhouse/Solix with being modular.
I wholeheartedly agree. So much so that I have nothing to add to this.
I long to live in a world where being self-sustaining means I can repair my devices with minimal impact on the environment and big business.
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Honestly. I have no idea what this means. I keep tripping over “Old Willy.” 
It’s easier for you to exchange a part than a whole.
It’s only a design of a release mechanism and a slot.
I suggest the whole Solix product line looks for commonality and goes towards a common modular construction.
Where there’s a will there’s a way so when I hear no way I actually hear there’s no will.