Page 2 - A Closer Look - Hardware
For those who do not know, the BLUETTI FridgePower is an uninterruptible power supply for your fridge with a built-in 2016Wh capacity LiFePO4 battery. The BlueCell 200 is an expansion battery pack for the FridgePower, which has an identical 2016Wh LiFePO4 battery inside. You can daisy-chain up to three BlueCell 200 units to the FridgePower. Every time you add a BlueCell 200, you add about 2kWh of capacity, up to 8kWh in total across the entire system.
The BLUETTI FridgePower and BlueCell 200 each has about the same battery capacity as the Elite 200 V2 at around 2kWh, but they look nothing like the portable power station. Instead, both products come in the form of a slim rectangular prism with rounded corners and edges to easily fit behind your fridge, on top of your fridge, or really anywhere you need it. From my photo above, you can see the FridgePower and BlueCell 200 look basically the same. The matte white plastic enclosure is simple and practical, being reasonably scratch and fingerprint resistant. They both have BLUETTI's logo prominently displayed on the front. The FridgePower has an internal fan and cooling vents, which is rated at 30dB.
The FridgePower and BlueCell 200 dimensions come in at 35cm in width, 58cm in height, and 7.5cm in depth. The FridgePower tips the scales at 43.43 lbs, since it contains additional hardware like an inverter, while the BlueCell 200 is a little lighter at 37.9 lbs. Most of the weight comes from their internal 2016Wh LiFePO4 batteries. These BLUETTI power products are significant in both size and weight, but given their massive battery capacity and strong capabilities, which we will look at on the next page, they are reasonable in my opinion.
Connections of the FridgePower system are remarkably simple, since this is not a portable power station, but rather a UPS. They are all located at the top. For the FridgePower itself, there are two 120V/2400W NEMA AC outlets that have a combined output of 1800W sustained, 3000W weight lifting, and 3600W burst. There is a DC input to charge using solar panels, not included. The AC input is for charging the system's internal batteries that claim to maintain 80% of its original capacity after 4000 cycles. The inlet is a standard C14 plug. Since the FridgePower has a maximum input power of 12A from the grid, I highly recommend switching to a C20 plug to ensure a high current certified power cable is used for safety reasons. The included 2.5m AC power cable is a fat 14 AWG unit, but unless you have a stack of these kicking around, be sure not to lose it. A 20A circuit breaker is located next to the AC input.
The BlueCell 200 has an 18W USB Type-C output at the top. Two cables come out the side, which include a 19.2VDC 75A power connection and a RJ45 CAN for monitoring the battery status.
Tipping the FridgePower and BlueCell 200 over, and we can see how the two connect together. The power and RJ45 CAN connections are located on the opposite, but corresponding, sides of each other, which allows for easy daisy chaining if you have them mounted side-by-side on the wall. The BlueCell 200 also has the power and RJ45 CAN connections on the opposite side like the FridgePower for daisy-chaining additional BlueCell 200 units as aforementioned. Each unit can go from 0 to 80% in 60 minutes and fully charge in 105 minutes. You can charge and run devices off the FridgePower system at the same time, and its 10ms response time gives it UPS capabilities. We will test the performance of this device in just a moment.
There are two screws on left of both the FridgePower and BlueCell 200 to attach a leatherette handle strap. I installed them on mine, and using them to move the devices around once in a while is probably okay, but I am not entirely convinced the leatherette handle straps are strong enough to reliably carry these 40lb devices if you plan to use them regularly.
At the back of both the FridgePower and BlueCell 200 are four integrated rubber feet. Here, you can install an included metal wall mounting bracket for wall mounting. Four adjustable leveling feet can be screwed in if you plan to lay them flat on the ground.
Finally, at the bottom is a power button and a battery charge indicator with five green LEDs. It is not a very good location to put it if you plan to put them vertically on the ground, but if you plan to wall mount it or lay it flat, they will be accessible. I still prefer having it on the top or front. The power button will be green during normal operation, flash green while charging, flash red when the state of charge is below 5%, and glow red when there is a system fault. The battery charge indicator LEDs will light up to indicate the state of charge.
Here is a look at the BLUETTI Display 1 module. It measures 11cm wide, 7.7cm tall, and 1.5cm thick. It weighs 155g, and has a built-in magnet. I tried sticking it to my fridge, and it held on quite securely. BLUETTI includes a metal plate in case the surface you want to attach it to is not very strong magnetically. If you do not have anything to stick it to, a stand swings out the back for it to stay upright on its own. There is a USB Type-C port on the left to charge the Display 1's internal 2000mAh battery. A USB Type-C to Type-A cable is included.
The Display 1 seamlessly connected to my FridgePower out of the box using Bluetooth. If you are familiar with the company's other products, the Display 1 is basically a discrete version of your power station's integrated display, but without the controls. A capacitive touch button near the bottom of the screen turns it on. The screen itself measures 4" diagonal. It shows information like weather alerts, current time, system connection status, charge status, state of charge, operational modes, input power, and output power. The display also shows the temperature and humidity inside your house, sourced from the internal sensor. An indicator at the top right corner indicates the Display 1's internal battery status. The display timeout and temperature unit are both configurable.
With the hardware items accounted for, how is the BLUETTI app for the FridgePower system? Let us take a closer look at it on the next page.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware
3. A Closer Look - Software
4. Test Results
5. Conclusion
