Loadshedding is here to stay and many South Africans are now taking the plunge into a long-term investment for a generator or UPS to wait out the darkness.
The popularity of these two kinds of solutions locally has many believing that they are the only two options, but upcoming device manufacturer GIZZU has a third one you should consider in the form of the Portable Power Station.
Simply charge these devices up when you have power, or via solar, and then enjoy their vast banks of power when loadshedding hits.
As far as descriptive names go Portable Power Stations are rather apt, as these devices made with movement in mind by way of compact designs and carry handles are made to be shifted around at will.
And moving your Portable Power Station around is definitely something you will do, as this option for loadshedding power is made for simplicity featuring full-size South African plugs – along with a bevy of other ports – right on the sides.
For home, this means you can carry yours to the room that needs the power the most, keep it in one central location and run extension cords, or you could settle for pseudo-permanent installation, placing it down where it’s best used – like in the living room – so everyone in the house can travel to it for power.
When you do need to leave the house for camping or living off the grid, these Portable Power Stations work equally well. Here again, the compact designs are perfect, but the batteries GIZZU uses also help. Instead of the unreliable and expensive to replace lead acid batteries used by many UPSs, GIZZU opts for high-quality lithium-Ion batteries just like the ones in your phone, tablet, notebook and others, albeit on a larger scale.
This offers better battery performance, longer life, quicker charging and a variety of other boons.
There’s a lot of choice from GIZZU on Takealot, but let’s look at two specific models, starting with one in the image below which really focuses on portability thanks to an LED Flashlight built right into the body of the unit.
While this makes this specific Portable Power Station even better for when you need to leave the house, having extra access to lighting is endlessly helpful at home, even if it’s just to navigate through the house to move the power station, or when plugging something in after the lights have already gone out.
On the side of this unit, you will also find a screen with all the relevant information about your Portable Power Station, so you can manage your charge and other important metrics.
For those who need a bit more oomph, consider the alternate option pictured below. While it doesn’t have an LED flashlight, this family of Portable Power Stations have, overall, larger capacities and more power.
You still get a display and South African plugs, too, so the choice really is up to you when it comes to which model to get for home and away.
