CES Interviews: Bluetti CEO Talks Future Product Lineups and More
Reading Time: 6 minutesAt CES 2023, we spoke to Bluetti CEO Longman Li about the company’s new products and its big ideas for the future.
Power generation and home-backup solutions are growing in popularity, with more people than ever considering how to keep the lights on when the power goes down. It isn’t just for emergencies, though, as many home power-plant solutions integrate with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind turbines to help reduce dependency on fossil fuels and to reduce home energy bills.
At CES 2023, MediaDownloader spoke to Bluetti CEO Longman Li about its new EP900 whole home power backup solution, its AC500 and B300S power units, and Bluetti’s plans for 2023 and beyond.
Bluetti Launches Its New EP900 Expandable Energy Storage Solution
Bluetti’s big news at CES 2023 was its new EP900 modular home energy storage solution, the company’s first whole home backup system launched for residential consumers.
The modular approach to home power backup has become Bluetti’s trademark, and the new EP900 clearly fits into the company ethos. The EP900 alone boasts a massive 9000kW of storage, which can expand up to 39.6kWh using four additional B500 Bluetti units, or with the addition of a second EP900 unit, all the way up to 79.2kWh.
One of the biggest upgrades between Bluetti’s existing solutions and the new EP900 is the option to sell power back to the grid during set hours. If you’re generating enough power, you can program the EP900 to sell back to the grid, generating some profit on your home battery backup investments. The EP900 has a combined input capacity across AC and solar of up to 5,000W, so you should have no issues keeping the EP900 and B500 batteries fully juiced. With that upgraded power output and direct access to the grid comes another difference, in that you’ll probably need a licensed contractor to help you install the EP900 properly.
‘I think in . . . two or three months it will launch in the US market. The European market already has the EP600, which has a different inverter. The European version has 6000W, and the American version has 9,000W. This inverter is a hybrid inverter, it’s very good. It comes with three MPPT and two AC/DC inverters inside. It can hook up with up to four batteries, and if you want to build up a big capacity, you can buy two inverters [EP900 units] with eight batteries.’
Let’s put Bluetti’s numbers into context. According to EIA.gov, the average US home uses around 886kWh per month. That breaks down to around 29.5kWh per day. If you have an EP900 with a full battery array, you’ll have 39.6kWh—enough power to spare. Using the EP900 day-to-day is also made easier with the Bluetti App, which controls the EP900 via Bluetooth. The app shows the entire EP900 system input and output, plus set multiple timing periods for charging and discharging throughout the day.
With fine-tuning, a system like the EP900 could save you money on household energy use, and at the very least, you’ll be able to keep the power on during an emergency.
Bluetti’s Recording Breaking AC500 Indiegogo Campaign
In late October 2022, Bluetti’s AC500 and B300S Indiegogo campaign drew to a close—with investors pledging a record-breaking $11 million, having raised more than $2.6 million in the first 24 hours alone. When a company like Bluetti launches an Indiegogo campaign, it’s easy for investors to commit, as the history of product delivery is plain to see. Indeed, Bluetti’s Indiegogo backers started receiving their new AC500 and B300S batteries before the end of 2022, highlighting the company’s commitment to delivering quality power solutions on time.
‘In North America, if you play with the RV or camper or you have to find somewhere to have a rest overnight. But now you don’t need to worry about that because you have power on the go. . . This is not only for entertainment, but its also for productivity. All of our products are very suitable for the nomad lifestyle. Those people needed gasoline or propane generators before, but those gasoline generators make a lot of noise and bad fumes and are bad for the envioronment. It’s a good backup for the battery for the power station charging from solar, from the parking lot, from the grid, or even from an old generator, but you can use this power in a silent and clean way thoughout the whole day.’
Like almost all Bluetti power products, the AC500 and B300S are modular systems, meaning you can pair several B300S battery units with the AC500 portable solar generator. The base AC500 unit has 3,072Wh, with a maximum output of 5,000W. But once paired with Bluetti’s new B300S external battery packs, you can build that out to a maximum capacity of 18,432Wh.
While that’s a little under the aforementioned daily US household usage, Bluetti believes that the AC500 and B300S combination is perfect for those on the road, using RVs, camping, or otherwise.
Furthermore, the AC500 is fully upgraded from its predecessor, the AC300, featuring more ports, more output capacity, and more input capacity for both AC and solar.
The Main Advantages of Using Bluetti Power Solutions
Portable power generation and whole home backups are a ‘very, very new category.’ It’s also a very busy marketplace, and Bluetti has numerous competitors, many of which are launching similar competing products. Figuring out why you should choose Bluetti over other products isn’t always clear, but Li had some wise words on the subject:
‘I believe we are the company who have made deep research into how to satisfy American customers; this is very important.’
Short and sweet, but accurate. Longman Li elaborated a little on what he meant, explaining that although Bluetti is based in China and has thousands of employees there, the company also has a strong presence in the USA, with service teams in Las Vegas, California, and other parts of the USA. Furthermore, by keeping its products on US soil, it makes it much easier for the company to ship its latest and greatest battery backups across the country without the consumer picking up a huge shipping bill, but also makes it that bit easier to handle any mishaps, installation issues, and even returns.
‘We can do repairs, refurbish, we can do refurbish schools for those who cannot afford the expensive things, we work with eBay directly, and besides our own websites, we have our Amazon shop, a Walmart shop, a Lowe’s shop, Home Depot, and in the future, we’ll have a Target advice shop.’
Being able to drop into a local store to buy a Bluetti home power solution is incredibly handy and is a real differentiator between the numerous portable power solution companies.
All Bluetti products come with at least two years warranty as standard. However, Bluetti has updated this policy for 2023, and now, if you buy direct from Bluetti, you’ll get an extra year of warranty on your portable power hardware.
What Is Bluetti? What Does Bluetti Mean?
We weren’t just talking about Bluetti’s new products. Ever wonder how a company got its name? We certainly were, so we asked Longman Li where Bluetti got its name and how the name Bluetti came about.
‘In China, we call B-L-U-E-T-T-I ‘baluti,’ but when we launched our brand, many western people called it, ‘blue anti.’ So, B-L-U-E is for ‘blue sky,’ then T-T-I. The first T is for Tomorrow, the second T is for Technology, and the last I is for innovation.’
It’s simple but has a deeper meaning than we were expecting, no doubt.
What’s Next for Bluetti? What Are Bluetti’s Future Plans?
But when it comes to companies like Bluetti, they’re not resting on their laurels, and innovation and expansion are the way forward.
Although Bluetti has had significant successes delivering portable power solutions, the company isn’t stopping there, as seen with the launch of the EP900 whole home backup. The EP900 is Bluetti’s first whole residential system, but Longman Li added that we’re likely to see Bluetti delivering power solutions to businesses before long.
‘In America, there are many small warehouses, and small manufacturers, and they need power. You know that as a house-owner if we don’t have power, we can’t enjoy the modern American lifestyle. But for those factories, it’s hard. Their machines cannot stop.’
And while Longman Li didn’t fully elaborate on those plans, he again referenced the impressive EP900 and B500 battery units on display at their CES 2023 booth. It’s not hard to imagine that this residential product will provide the solid foundation required for Bluetti’s venture into providing onsite power backup services for businesses.
The Future Looks Bright For Bluetti
Aside from the modular approach to building out a portable or backup power solution, there is one more thing that the company knows is vital for users: convenience. While a larger solution like the EP900 will require a contractor (unless you know what you’re doing, of course), Bluetti’s fully portable power stations, such as the AC500 and B300S, are effectively plug-and-play; almost anyone could buy them, charge them, and use them to keep powered up while traveling, camping, or otherwise.
That convenience is clear throughout Bluetti’s entire range, and it makes a huge difference to end-users when you have the confidence to buy a product, know that its well supported by the company, that you have protection if anything goes wrong, and that most of all, it’s simple to use.
Bluetti’s 2023 and beyond looks bright, and we’re excited and interested to see what’s to come. Special thanks to Bluetti CEO Longman Li for taking the time to talk to MediaDownloader at CES 2023.
Reference: https://www.makeuseof.com/bluetti-interview-ces-2023/
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