In a blackout: use the e-bike battery as a power bank?
Even if a complete blackout is very unlikely, many people ask themselves how they can still get electricity in an emergency. Tapping into the touring bike’s e-bike battery with its almost 600 watt hours seems to be a stroke of genius. But is that even possible?
Winter 2022 promises to be uncomfortable. After all, electricity, gas and fuel are more expensive than ever. However, the Energy supply secured according to the Federal Ministry of Economics (Source: bmwk.de, bundesnetzagentur.de), for emergencies, three nuclear power plants will continue to run until April 2023. In this guide, we will tell you whether you can use the battery of your e-bike as a power bank in the event of at least a short, local power failure or a brownout.
Can the e-bike battery be used as a power bank?
Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to this question it depends on the onboard computer. Because unfortunately only a few e-bike batteries can charge your cell phone or other gadgets. In most cases, the battery can only be tapped via the connections on the system display – a micro-USB socket is usually provided for this purpose.
However, this usually offers you less than 1 ampere. So you can’t operate household appliances like this. The only thing you can do with this is to slow down the drain on your cell phone battery when you use energy-intensive applications such as Google Maps. Bosch e-bike displays are a bit weak compared to those from other manufacturers such as Shimano, Yamaha and Flyer. The former only manage 0.5 amperes, which many cell phones do not even recognize as a charge.
A complete misuse of the e-bike battery for Energy supply in the apartment is not possible or not in the sense of the manufacturer. However, it is not impossible. For the curious, the YouTube channel has self-sufficiency equipped an e-bike battery with a connector system to connect an inverter. This can also be used to supply everyday devices in an emergency.
Note: If you are not a specialist, you should definitely keep your hands off the following experiment. The AC voltage of 230 volts can be deadly.
Alternatives to the e-bike battery: power banks and solar generators
If you don’t want to put your life in danger, you should take a look to real alternatives throw and not disassemble his e-bike battery. If you have real concerns about your power supply, we’re happy to give you a few options to get you started.
An alternative to the home experiment with the e-bike battery are power banks such as the Anker 521 Powerhouse. Even more reliable is using one Solar power bank, which can recharge itself. If a mobile power storage device like the Jackery Explorer 1000 Pro is a size too big for you, you only have a small balcony or the system is too expensive for you, then a smaller power bank with integrated solar cells like the iPosible Solar Powerbank is recommended.
