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Your cart is empty.The Xantrex PowerHub is a combination of an inverter/charger module capable of delivering up to 1800 watts of household power. It is the first backup power solution to operate with solar and wind inputs. Power from a generator or the utility grid can also be used with the PowerHub system to recharge its batteries. The PowerHub provides an affordable, high-output, primary power solution for an off-grid cottage or cabin, as well as backup power for grid-connected homes when the power goes out.
Jane Dow
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2020
Bought this unit to use at our remote woods camp. Plan to hook up a TV and a single electric light. Will recharge the batteries with a generator and may eventually set it up to recharge with solar. And if we sell the remote camp, we’ll take the unit with us to our home to use in the event of power outages. Came perfectly packaged and arrived in one day after ordering! Unbelievable service!! Unbelievable product!!
PR
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2012
We purchased the PowerHub to maintain ham radio equipment at a remote location where there can be several brief dropouts every day and occasionally one- or two-day outages. We chose to install two 200 Ah batteries instead of one or two 100 Ah batteries, which would fit in the battery cabinet. The PowerHub has performed flawlessly, and the radio and computing equipment it supports has had no problems with the synthesized sine-wave output the PH-1800 produces.The literature about the PowerHub indicates that the changeover from mains power to backup power can take as long as 40 milliseconds, and we were concerned about how well the computer and router would operate through the changeover. Initially, we installed a small UPS between the PowerHub and the other gear, hoping that it would eliminate the dropout. The UPS came on-line as expected when the changeover occurred, but it would not recognize the output of the PowerHub as valid AC mains power. So it would not go out of backup mode until mains power was restored. Several other UPSs were tried, and each behaved in the same way. In the end, we simply powered all the equipment directly from the PowerHub. The computer and radio power supplies simply coasted through the changeover, which actually only takes less than 25 milliseconds.The PH-1800 offers a number of connection options, which include permanent (instead of plug-in) AC wiring, wind and solar power inputs, and two battery connections. We don't use all of these, but it's good to see that they will be available later. The LCD display on the front panel is handy for checking battery voltage, charge status, AC load, etc. The fact that the PH-1800 has a large ground connection on the rear of the cabinet allows you to make this part of a safe electrical installation. Conventional UPSs don't do that.We're told by Xantrex that the 40 Ah, stepped charging system can recharge a 100 Ah battery in five or six hours. Adding more batteries increases the charge time, because the available charge current remains the same. Importantly, the charger apparently isn't affected by having to deal with four or six batteries. It only takes longer to charge them. This is important because a sister group wants to design for a 72 hour hold-up time, and an 800 Ah battery plant will be needed.We remotely monitor the condition of the batteries, so it was good to find that battery negative is tied to case and safety ground in the PowerHub. This allowed us to connect monitoring equipment directly to the batteries without having to build an interface which isolates grounds.All in all, an excellent, well-conceived, well-made product.
Power User
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2012
I purchased the Xantrex PowerHub1800 in 2009 as a UPS for frequent power outages to power my sump pump and refrigerator. Since then it was used on only one occasion to power the fridge during a power outage. In 2012 it developed error code E09 indicating a ground fault interrupt. Xantrex technical support suggested I check the voltage of my batteries and replace them. The voltage was way down, so I replaced the batteries without trying to charge them using a different charger (bad mistake). Even with new batteries I was receiving E09 due to a ground fault. This time Xantrex technical support indicated that the unit's circuitry was bad and recommended that I replace the unit entirety. Really? The unit inexplicably fails and the recommendation is to replace it? I removed the panels to the unit and discovered one of the cards had shorted to the aluminum heat sink. An instrument and electronics engineer who looked at it suggested a transistor burned out and the man hours required to attempt to fix it would far outweigh the cost of replacement. Too bad I can't upload photos of the burned out card.I will not be replacing the PowerHub 1800 nor would I recommend any Xantrex products. Since I still have 4 working batteries with 430 Ah of storage, I have recently purchased a separate battery charger and inverter.
Father Goose
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2011
I'm not sure where the previous reviewer ran into a problem? I bought one of these Powerhubs from Amazon two years ago for our "off grid" cabin. I also purchased: 3x60 watt solar panels from a local supplier ($400); 2x100 amp-hour deep cycle batteries from Canadian Tire which are designed for this system ($400 on sale); 100 ft. of #10 wire ($100); a couple of 12" #4 jumper cables and a 20 amp charge controller ($75). The panels were installed on our roof. The wire from the panels was run down an old conduit standpipe to the basement and up through the floor to the Xantrex PH-1800 box. The included manual was very detailed and illustrated all the connection steps. There is also a very nice installation video at this site[...]The system has been up and running and powering all our table and floor lights for two years without a hitch. We keep at least 4x13 watt compact fluorescent lights on most evenings for 4 hours or more and a laptop or two and a small stereo system. No TV but what would a TV be doing at someone's cabin anyway? We've never come close to running the batteries below 80% charge and the batteries are normally recharged up to capacity before noon every day. I'm hoping to add a 400 watt wind turbine next spring which should just plug into the unit with one connection, along with two more batteries that fit into an add-on battery box made specifically for the main box. I can't imagine a simpler and more elegant solution and at a final cost of less than $1800 for everything. This really is a "plug'n'play" solar solution for small off-grid situations.
Arthur
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2009
It will not run a lot of wattage very long. But if your power go off in the middle of the night, it will let you run a few things until you get up in the morning and crank up a generator. I am pleased with it.
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