A few months back I reviewed the Growatt Infinity 1500 power station and it was a good first effort by the popular inverter brand. Fast forward to 2023 and Growatt has released their second power station called the Vita 550 with an upgraded LiFePO4 battery.
Design/Display: ABS plastic design with folding handle and color LCD screen
Inverter Size/Type and #outlets: 600w pure sine inverter with 3 AC outlets
Ways To Charge: 3 ways to charge
AC power: The AC charger is built in to this unit and is capable of up to 500w grid charging that can top up the Vita 550 from 0-100% in about 1.6 hours. 0-80% happens in less than a hour. That’s fast for a product of this size.
12v: The Growatt can also charge from 12v either from a vehicle or external battery and can charge the unit in about 6-7 hours.
Solar: Solar on the 550 maxes out at 240w with a voltage range from 12-24v DC and 10A maximum. Under optimal conditions this lets you charge the unit in about 2.5 hours.
12v Output Types: One 10A cigarette lighter accessory socket and a pair of 5521 barrel plugs all regulated at 13.2v
USB Output Types: 1x USB-C 100w PD output, 1x USB-A QC output good for 18w, and a pair of standard USB-A ports good for charging your dinosaurs
Other Outputs: Sports a 15w wireless charging pad on top
Other Features: Growatt also has an app that works with all of their solar generators. We’ll show that in a bit.
Warranty: 2 years
Testing :
DC Battery Capacity Test (time lapse): On the DC test, the Vita 550 scored 503wh out of 538 for an amazing 93% of rated capacity. This is also coming from a regulated 12v output at 8A which makes the result even more impressive.
AC Battery Capacity Test (time lapse): It scored a little bit lower on the AC capacity test, pulling 450wh out of 538 for a still above average 84%. Note that this test is performed at around 50% of the rated capacity of the inverter which is usually the sweet spot.
With a lot of recent sogens pulling 70’s and low 80’s numbers this is a refreshing change. Note that their 1500w Growatt Infinity did poorly on the 12v test and only 81% on the AC test. So Growatt, whatever you did on this newer product keep doing it.
Sine wave check under load:120v 60hz
Inverter capacity test (max): 600w
Cooling ability test (rated @ 5mins):600w
Inverter fan noise db: 53
Max Charge Rate @ watts/volts: AC: 485w DC: 12v 85w, 18v 195w, 30v max 245w
Charging fan noise db: 53
Simultaneous charging ability: None
Pass thru / UPS: No ups, No AC pass thru. Inverter disabled during AC charge and vice versa. Full DC pass through.
DC Output(s) Max Rate: 10A
12v output(s) regulated: 13.3v
USB output rate check: 91w/100w PD
Wireless/other output: Pad works all the time unit is on
Amp interference test: Pass
Light demo: Has light, blinker, NO SOS (a HT first!)
APP/solar test: pass
My Opinion:
I think the Growatt Vita 550 is a quality bang for your buck product as it offers what most folks need in this size of power station at a competitive price. If Ecoflow and Bluetti had a baby it would be a Growatt. It’s fast charging, has a good size LFP battery, a quiet inverter, all the USB and wireless charging options, app control, and a light without the silly SOS.
However, the elephant in the room is the lack of UPS feature or even AC pass through charging. If you don’t need an uninterruptible power supply or to run AC appliances while it charges from the grid, then you won’t care about this omission. Folks that plan to mostly charge with solar probably won’t care either as DC pass through charging works just fine. However, the competition does offer this feature in their midrange products and it’s really the only major oversight by Growatt. They are going to be reading the comments in this video so if you want to voice your opinion here I’m sure they’ll listen.
Pricing and competition:
Product Price with current discounts:
The Vita 550 retails for $529. However, I scored a discount code from Growatt that will knock that price down for a limited time. It’s a very competitive price for something with a built in charger and an app.
Main Competitor:
Speaking of competition this 500 to 600 watt LFP segment is pretty hot. You have Bluetti’s 600w EB3A that’s about 40% cheaper but has half the battery capacity. Ecoflow’s 500w River 2 Max has a more bling and a longer warranty but is also almost 100 bucks more. This slips the Growatt conveniently in the middle of the two biggest names in LFP power stations.
Who’s It Aimed At?:
When you’re talking 600 watts, your talking limited support for appliances. Don’t expect to run your Keurig, Instant Pot, microwave, or air conditioner on this model. That’s not what they are for. If you need to power a small 3 cup coffee maker, a desktop computer, laptop, TV, fans, or a small refrigerator this will do the job. It’s also great for charging batteries, tablets, cell phones and the like along with a 12v compressor fridge which I have many to choose from on sale at hobotech.tv/amazon. Oh, since the fans are so quiet this is also a good unit for a CPAP machine as it should get you by a couple of nights, and since the inverter is clean you can actually use this for small audio amplifiers so you can rock out at your campsite and annoy your neighbors.
Recommended Solar Panel Type/Size:
Growatt does offer their own 200w portable folding solar panel in a bundle with this product which will work perfectly. However, if you want something more robust and less expensive I’d recommend the BougeRV 180w or 200w glass panels which can be found on hobotech.tv/amazon under “solar kits”.
HOBOTECH is viewer supported. When you buy through these links we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The Professor reviews Growatt’s debut solar power station the Infinity 1500 with 2000w inverter, 1512wh battery, 800w solar input, and remote APP support at a “best bang for the buck” price.
Growatt is well known for their low frequency inverters and has decided to delve into the crowded solar generator market with their own 2000 watt offering, the INFINITY 1500.
Quirks & Features
Battery Capacity/Tech/Cycles: 1512wh lithium ion battery rated 800 cycles to 80% capacity
Size/Weight: I’ll put the size at the bottom and here’s is what it weighed on my scale. 17 x 9 x11
Design/Display: The Infinity 1500 resembles a much happier alternate universe version of the Ecoflow Delta. Just think of it as the Bearded Spock of solar generators.
Inverter Size/Type (constant/peak) and #outlets: Interestingly, the Growatt enables the user to decide if they want a 1500w, 1800w, or 2000w pure sine inverter by choosing within their app. By limiting the inverter power you also limit the loudness of the cooling fans which we’ll test in a bit. You access this power via 4x 20A outlets on the side.
Ways To Charge (and times for each): It does offer the standard 3 ways to charge…
First by grid (or AC wall) power at a maximum of 1500w, also configurable within the app, and at that rate the Growatt can charge to 80% in under an hour or about 90 minutes to full.
Second by 12/24v vehicle which takes about 14 hours.
Finally, it supports 800w of solar through it’s MPPT controller with a surprisingly wide voltage range of 12v-100v at a maximum of 12A. At 800w you can top up the Growatt in just under 3 hours. The voltage range as tested is actually different than in the printed manual and we’ll review this in my testing coming up.
12v Output Types: The Infinity offers a single 12v cigarette lighter socket rated at 10A and is regulated at 13.6v
USB Output Types: As for USB outputs there are 6 total. You get a pair of standard USB outputs good for charging your dinosaurs, a pair of 18 QC ports, and a pair of 60w PD outputs. Note the power delivery ports are output only and can not be used to charge the Growatt.
Other Outputs: There is also a 15w wireless charging pad up top if your phone supports wireless charging
Other Features:
The Growatt does offer a basic 20ms UPS (or uninterruptable power supply) feature and we’ll demo that here in a bit.
Now because it does offer a UPS feature, it means up to 3 units can be chained together from the output of one to the input of another to essentially expand battery capacity. This does mean having the inverter running on each unit so it’s not really the most power efficient.
And while there is no built in flashlight good for flagging down UFO’s, Growatt does have their own app called “MyGro” that lets you remotely control the unit.
Warranty: Growatt does offer a 2 year manufacturer’s warranty on this product
Testing
DC Battery Capacity Test (time lapse): 1023wh/1512 for an abysmal 68%. Now, I didn’t notice until after I started editing this video that I had apparently left the WIFI and Bluetooth enabled during this test. I had also left the screen on permanently and the combo of those two parasitic loads over 10 hours could have affected the final results. So I did a last minute retest with those features off and at a slightly higher load and well, the results somehow were worse by about 40wh. So getting about 1000wh from the DC output seems to be a legit result.
AC Battery Capacity Test (time lapse): As for the AC capacity results it scored a far better 1230wh/1512 or 81% and this was on the maximum 2000w inverter setting with WIFI, Bluetooth and screen off.
Sine wave check under load: 119v/60hz
Inverter capacity test (max): 2400W
Cooling ability test (rated @ 5mins): pass 2000w (will not recharge if hot)
Temperature check:
Inverter fan noise db: 60
Max Charge Rate @ watts/volts: AC 1500w, DC 14v 105w, 100v 800w
Charging fan noise db: 50 slow, 56 fast
Simultaneous charging ability: yes 1500w favors solar = 800w solar + 700 AC
Pass thru / UPS: UPS passed laptop test
DC Output(s) Max Rate: 10A
12v output(s) regulated: 13.6v
USB output rate check: 60w pass
Wireless/other output: pass
Amp interference test: pass
My opinion
What do I think about the Infinity 1500? Well, for Growatt’s first offering it is certainly enough bang for the buck to make it to my recommended list. While there is nothing really game changing about the Infinity 1500, it does do everything well. You have a clean 2000w inverter with a 1500wh battery, ample USB ports of every flavor, wireless charging, an APP (which does need some blingification), and a UPS that switches fast enough for use with personal computers.
Unfortunately, that’s where the good stuff ends. I’m saddened by the 12v DC capacity results that I did verify with a retest. I know most folks aren’t going to use the 12v output on this but if that’s a major feature for you then the Growatt isn’t the most efficient choice. I really have no idea why the single 12v output on this consumes so much power. Fortunately, the inverter is great and rates about average numbers across all brands.
Since Growatt decided to raid the parts bin of Ecoflow, they have the exact same complaint as virtually the entire Ecoflow line of products when it comes to the sound level of their cooling fans. I’m afraid their just too darn loud. Fortunately, Growatt mends this somewhat by offering differing charge rates and inverter outputs in an attempt to mitigate some of the loudness. If you don’t mind turning everything down to minimal settings it will cut out 6db of noise or the equivalent of being about twice as far away. I think for most noise sensitive folks this makes it even a better choice than the Ecoflow especially at it’s rock bottom introductory price.
Pricing and competition
Product Price with current discounts:
About that rock bottom price … Retail the Infinity 1500 goes for $1299 but viewers of HOBOTECH of course get a special discount for a final price of $1099 (that’s only 55 cents per watt or 72 cents per watt hour).You need to use the code HOBOSFANS along with this linkto get the special deal.
Main Competitor:
Since they share so many parts, the Growatt nearest competition is probably the Ecoflow Delta Max. While most of the specs are similar, the Ecoflow sports a slightly larger battery with a much higher price of $1899. The Jackery 1500 would be the next closest competitor size and price wise if it was still the year 2020, but in order to even touch the specs of the Growatt you’d need to compare the more current $2100 Jackery 2000 Pro. When comparing price and features of these competing NMC products the Growatt is practically a steal even at it’s regular $1299 price.
Recommended Solar Panel Type/Size:
The Growatt supports up to 800w of solar within a wide voltage range up to 110v and 12A. This lets you use just about any panels you want. If you need portable panels I’d go with the 200w Growatt panels. You can run 4 of those in series to max out this unit. If you want a more permanent solution, I’d recommend the BougeRV 180w or 200w panels or the Renogy 320w panels which can be found on hobotech.tv/amazon under “solar kits”.
If you’re interested, use this link with discount code HOBOSFANS for the best deal online. The Infinity 1500 is not available at any retail stores.
HOBOTECH is viewer supported. When you buy through these links we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The Professor reviews the WORLD’S LARGEST modular LFP power station by Bluetti! The AC500 with B300s SELF HEATING battery has a 5000w inverter, 5000w AC grid charging, 3000w solar, 50A RV hookup, and supports up to 18 kWh of lithium storage.
HOBOTECH is viewer supported. When you buy through these links we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
You must be logged in to post a comment.