• Anker has announced the local availability of two new portable power stations – the PowerHouse 521 and 535.
• The portable power stations are available from local retailers like Takealot, starting from R7 999.
• Anker now has three options in its local power station lineup, with the 757 expected next month.

As South Africans look for more solutions to address the ongoing energy crisis, portable power stations are becoming an increasingly interesting prospect. To that end, now Anker has made two new portable power stations available in South Africa in the form of the PowerHouse 521 and PowerHouse 535.

The devices’ availability comes on the back of the appointing a local distributor in February this year.

The PowerHouse 521 and 535 will be joined by a larger capacity 757 model, which Anker expects to launch in SA sometime in July.

For now, the different iterations of 521 and 535 are already available to purchase, with a dedicated Anker store found on Takealot, and pricing for the range starting from R7 999.

“The new lineup of high-capacity PowerHouse stations is powered by a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery like those used in modern electric vehicles and offers 6 times more use than conventional batteries. LiFePO4 batteries also offer improved discharge and charge efficiency compared to Lithium-Ion,” added Anker in a press release sent to Hypertext.

“The stations have been designed using an automotive-grade aluminum alloy that is corrosion and temperature-resistant, providing unmatched durability to withstand the harshest of climates,” it added.

Looking closer at the models, the 521 features 256Wh (69k mAh) of power capacity and 200W of total output power. Added to this is a drop-proof design and industry-standard components with a 50 000-hour life expectancy.

As for the 535, it has a rugged design, multiple charging ports, and a built-in lighting bar. In terms of power it has 512Wh (138k mAh) of capacity and 500W total output. Anker says the 535 station is able to charge any mobile device including smartphones, tablets, and notebooks, as well as small appliances and medical equipment such as CPAP machines.

Along with Takealot, Anker says local consumers can purchase these portable power stations from other retailers like Incredible, Hi-Fi Corp, and ORMS among others.