Power station × solar panel compatibility check

Pick your station and your panel from the verified tables, or type the figures from the labels yourself. The check runs the four things that decide whether a mixed-brand array works: cold open-circuit voltage against the port maximum, operating voltage against the MPPT start threshold, current and power clipping at the port, and the adapter leads and fuses the array needs.

Quick-fill verified presets · official manual figures

Power station (verified manual figures)

Pick a model to load its solar window, current ceiling, power ceiling and connector. Every field stays editable.

Solar panel (STC label figures)

Pick a panel to load Watts, Voc, Vmp, Isc, Imp and the Voc temperature coefficient. Check the label on your own panel afterwards.

Four checks, one result

Port start voltage V The low number of the solar window, e.g. 11 V in 11–60 V. Port maximum voltage V The high number of the solar window. A hard component rating. Port current limit A Per-port maximum input current from the manual. Port power limit W Per-port maximum solar wattage. Low-voltage cap applies below V 0 means no such cap. Jackery v2 caps at 17.5 V. Current limit below that voltage A 0 means no such cap. Jackery v2: 8 A, Anker C1000: 10 A. Panel rating (STC) W Nameplate watts on the back of the panel. Panel Voc V Open circuit at 25 °C. Always higher than Vmp. Panel Vmp V Operating voltage at 25 °C. Panel Imp A Current at maximum power point. Panel Isc A Short-circuit current. Fuse sizing uses 1.56 × this. Panels in series nS Adds voltage, keeps current. Strings in parallel nP Adds current, keeps voltage. Three or more needs fuses. Coldest ambient temperature °F Record low for the site. 5 °F is about -15 °C. Voc temperature coefficient %/°C Positive magnitude. Mono runs 0.29 to 0.34 %/°C.

Enter the array and the port to run the check.

Expected harvest in sun —W

After port clipping —W

Array cold Voc —V

Voltage headroom —%

Array Vmp —V

Array Imp —A

Current the port accepts —A

Array nameplate —W

Inline fuse rating —A

Minimum cable —AWG

Reading the result: a DANGER verdict means the array must not be connected — reduce the series count. A MARGINAL verdict means the voltage is safe but the array never wakes the charger, so add a panel in series. CLIPPED is safe: the port simply refuses current above its rating. Low-voltage current cap covers firmware that lowers the current ceiling below a voltage threshold (Jackery v2 is 8 A below 17.5 V, Anker C1000 is 10 A below 32 V); leave it at 0 if your unit has no such cap.

Wiring & adapter checklist

What to bring to the van

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Checklist, quantities calculated from the inputs above
Item	Qty	Unit	Note

Adapter types follow the port on the station: MC4 to XT60i for EcoFlow and Anker, MC4 to DC8020 for Jackery v2 and 2000 Plus, MC4 to DC7909 for the 8 mm barrel units, MC4 to Aviation for Bluetti. The barrel sizes are not interchangeable: DC7909 is the 8.0 mm plug, DC8020 is 8.0 mm with a thicker centre pin, and forcing one into the other is how the socket gets hot and melts. Sizes are a starting point — check the run length and derate for bundling.

Four checks, in the order that matters

Mixing a third-party panel with a portable power station goes wrong in four distinct ways, and they are not equally bad. The order below is the order in which damage happens, which is also the order in which the calculator runs them.

1. Over-voltage. The array's open-circuit voltage at the coldest temperature exceeds the port's maximum. This is the only failure that destroys hardware instantly, and it is the reason the cold Voc check exists on its own page. If the calculator says DANGER, nothing else about the array matters until the series count comes down.

2. Under-voltage. The array's operating voltage never reaches the MPPT start threshold. Nothing breaks; nothing charges either. A 100 W folding panel at 18 V Vmp on a Bluetti AC200P, whose window starts at 35 V, is a fully functional panel connected to a charger that will never begin a sweep. The display shows a panel connected and zero watts, and people spend weeks blaming the cable.

3. Current and power clipping. The array can deliver more than the port accepts. The charger holds its ceiling and refuses the surplus — safe, expected, and the normal state of an over-panelled system. The number that matters is the harvest after clipping, not the nameplate on the panels.

4. Parallel wiring hazards. Three or more strings in parallel need a fuse in each string, because a faulted string becomes a load for the others.

Why over-current is safe and over-voltage is not

The input stage is a boost converter that runs a maximum power point search: it sweeps the array's operating voltage, watches the power, and settles at the peak. The current that flows is a consequence of where it settles. If the array can supply 26 A and the port is rated 15 A, the converter settles at a point where current is 15 A and the array simply runs at a higher voltage than its true maximum power point. That is clipping, it is what every oversized rooftop array does, and it is within the design intent of the hardware.

Voltage is different in kind. It is present across the input terminals the instant contact is made, before the converter has switched once. There is no control loop to intervene, no current to measure, nothing to limit. The components see the array's full open-circuit voltage at the coldest moment it is ever connected, and their ratings are absolute. A 60 V input is not a 60 V target with tolerance above it; on most units the input capacitors are 63 V parts, and the 3 V between the rating and the part is the entire safety margin.

So the asymmetry is simple: an oversized array costs you nothing but clipping, and too much series voltage costs you the station. When in doubt, put panels in parallel and add current, not voltage.

Eleven ports, one array

The table below puts a single array — two Renogy 200 W panels in parallel, 19.2 V Vmp and 20.84 A Imp, 400 W nameplate — on every verified single-port limit in this site's library. The current column is the cap each port actually applies at 19.2 V, which is where generational firmware differences show up: the Anker C1000 holds 10 A below 32 V, and the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 holds 8 A below 17.5 V. Harvest is recomputed from the formula on each build.

One array, eleven ports. A 1S2P pair of Renogy 200 W panels (Vmp 19.2 V, Imp 20.84 A, 400 W nameplate) on each station's published single-port limit, with the current ceiling each port applies at 19.2 V. Harvest is recomputed as min(19.2 × min(20.84, A), W) on every build. Note how the 220 W RIVER 2 Pro and the 200 W Explorer 1000 clip on power, not current, and how the Explorer 2000 Plus is limited purely by its 12 A input while its 700 W per-port ceiling sits far out of reach.
Station	Start V	Cap A @19.2 V	Port W	Harvest W	In sun W	Limiter
EcoFlow DELTA 2	11	15	500	288	236	15 A current cap
EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max	11	15	500	288	236	15 A current cap
EcoFlow DELTA Pro	11	15	1600	288	236	15 A current cap
EcoFlow RIVER 2 Pro	11	13	220	220	180	220 W power cap
Jackery Explorer 1000 (Original, 2020)	12	10.5	200	200	164	200 W power cap
Jackery Explorer 1000 v2	12	10.5	400	201.6	165	10.5 A current cap
Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus	12	12	700	230.4	189	12 A current cap
Bluetti EB3A	12	8.5	200	163.2	134	8.5 A current cap
Bluetti AC180	12	10	500	192	157	10 A current cap
Bluetti AC200L	12	15	1200	288	236	15 A current cap
Anker SOLIX C1000	11	10	600	192	157	10 A current cap

Two rows clip on power rather than current. On the 220 W RIVER 2 Pro input, 19.2 V × 13 A is 249.6 W of available power and the port takes 220 W of it. On the 200 W original Explorer 1000 the array's 201.6 W is cut to 200 W. Everywhere else the current ceiling binds first, which is why the same 400 W array delivers anywhere from 163 W to 288 W depending only on the socket it is plugged into.

The start-voltage trap is a generation issue

Two Bluetti units with nearly identical names behave completely differently on a 12 V panel. The AC200P starts at 35 V and peaks at 150 V; the AC200L starts at 12 V and peaks at 145 V. One panel at 18 V works on the second and does nothing on the first. Two panels in series at 36 V work on the first and are needlessly high on the second. This is not a firmware update or a regional variant — it is a different charger design in a different chassis, and the model names do not warn you.

The same hazard exists across the Jackery line, where the name "Explorer 1000" has shipped at least four ways. The 2020 original is 12–30 V with a DC7909 socket and a 200 W ceiling; the v2 is 12–60 V with a DC8020 socket and 400 W; the Plus and Pro are different again. A panel bought for one of them can be over-voltage on another and useless on a third. The preset list spells out the generation in every entry for exactly this reason: if a model is not listed with its generation, treat its numbers as unknown rather than assuming the family's reputation applies.

Connectors are not interchangeable, even when they fit

Three physical families cover most of this market, and two of them look almost identical:

DC7909 — 8.0 mm barrel, thin centre pin. Jackery's older units and most Bluetti models up to the AC180.
DC8020 — 8.0 mm barrel, thicker centre pin. Jackery v2 and 2000 Plus. A DC7909 plug can be forced in; it then contacts on a narrow ring instead of the pin, heats up under 10 A, and eventually takes the socket with it.
XT60 / XT60i — the two-pin and three-pin rectangular pair used by EcoFlow and Anker. The XT60i's third pin is a signal contact, not a conductor; see the XT60 page for what it unlocks.
Aviation / XT90 — the round multi-pin plug on larger Bluetti units, often stepped down to XT90 on the panel side.

None of these carry a negotiation protocol that protects you. The socket accepts what the plug gives it, and several amps through a poor contact is a resistive heater inside a plastic housing. If a connector needs force, it is the wrong connector.

Fusing parallel strings

With two parallel strings, a short in one string is fed only by its own panels, which its wiring can carry. With three, the other two push their combined current backwards through the faulted string — more than its conductors and cells are rated for, with fire as the realistic outcome. NEC 690.9(B) puts the fuse at 1.56 × the string's Isc; the calculator rounds that up to the next standard size and counts one fuse per string. For a 13 A Isc panel that is 20.3 A, so a 25 A fuse. Skip this and the array works perfectly until the one day it does not.

Reading the verdict

SAFE means the array starts, stays inside the voltage window at your design temperature, and does not hit a current or power ceiling. CLIPPED means it is safe and the port is refusing surplus — normal, and the harvest figure tells you what you actually get. MARGINAL means the voltage is fine but the charger will not start; add a panel in series. DANGER means over-voltage: do not connect it.

Independent check, not manufacturer advice. Port ratings here are transcribed from published manuals, with the model generation stated in every entry, and the arithmetic is recomputed by an automated test suite before anything is published. Manufacturers revise hardware without renaming it, labels vary between production batches, and a used panel may not match its label at all. Confirm the input rating on your own unit, confirm the panel, and measure the string before connecting it. SolarPortCheck is not affiliated with EcoFlow, Jackery, Bluetti, Anker SOLIX, Renogy, BougeRV, Rich Solar or Canadian Solar.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to connect a panel array that is bigger than the station's solar input rating?

Yes, as long as the voltage is under the maximum. Over-panelling is normal and useful: the charger runs a maximum power point search and simply refuses current above its rating, so a 600 W array on a 400 W input delivers 400 W and no damage. What is not safe is putting more voltage on the input than it is rated for, because voltage is present the moment the connector touches, before any current limiting can act. Big array, small port: fine. Too much series voltage: not fine.

Why does my station not charge at all from a panel that works on my friend's unit?

Almost always the MPPT start voltage. A 100 W folding panel sits at about 18 V Vmp, which never reaches the 35 V floor of a Bluetti AC200P, so the charger never begins a sweep and the display shows a panel connected but zero watts. The same panel works on an AC200L, whose window starts at 12 V. The fix is a second panel in series, not a bigger panel: two 18 V panels in series sit at 36 V, which clears the threshold with almost nothing to spare.

What is the difference between DC7909 and DC8020, and why does it matter?

Both are 8 mm barrel connectors used for solar input on Jackery and Bluetti units, and they are not interchangeable. DC7909 has a thin centre pin; DC8020 looks the same from outside but has a thicker pin and a different internal contact. A DC7909 plug forced into a DC8020 socket makes contact on a narrow ring instead of the full pin, which raises resistance exactly where several amps are flowing. The result is heat at the socket, then a melted plug and sometimes a damaged input board. Use the lead the manual specifies, and if the fit feels loose or tight, stop.

Do I need fuses when I run panels in parallel?

Once you have three or more parallel strings, yes — one fuse per string, rated at 1.56 times the string's Isc and rounded up to the next standard size. The reason is back-feeding: if one string shorts internally, the other strings push their combined current backwards through it, which is more than its own wiring is rated for. Two strings cannot do that, which is why the rule starts at three. The checklist counts the fuses and prints the rating.

The calculator says CLIPPED. Have I wasted money on the extra panels?

Not entirely, and the number tells you how much. Panels only reach nameplate output in cold, clear, perpendicular sun; the rest of the time a slightly oversized array is just catching more of what is available. What clipping costs you is the peak of the best hours. If the harvest figure barely moves when you add a panel, the port's current limit is the binding constraint and the money is better spent on a station with a higher input rating than on more panels.

How accurate are the preset figures?

They are transcribed from the published manuals of the models listed, with the generation spelled out in every entry, because the same model name has shipped with different input windows — the 2020 Explorer 1000 is 12–30 V while the v2 is 12–60 V, and a Bluetti AC200P starts at 35 V while an AC200L starts at 12 V. Manufacturers revise hardware without renaming it, so treat the preset as a starting point and confirm the numbers on your own unit's label or manual before you trust a DANGER or SAFE verdict.