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Solar panels for the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2

Written by Ian Schneider·Solar & Off-Grid Tester

Jackery gave the Explorer 1000 v2 two solar inputs and left both of them wide open. 12 to 60 volts, 400 W between them. Thirty-one of the forty-one panels we track fit, and not one is over the line. The other ten are waiting on a voltage figure we don't have yet.

With a limit that tall, the question is how many panels you'd carry and how long you'd wait. Sixteen of the thirty-one can fill the input as a set, and a full set has the battery topped up in a little under three hours. One 100 W folding panel on its own takes about fifteen hours, more sun than a weekend at the cabin would give me.

The door
12–60 V
Its width
400 W
Plug
DC8020
Full battery, best case
~2.7 h
Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 portable power station
The two sockets double as the car-charging inputs. Jackery spells them DC8020 on the product page and DC 8mm in the manual's spec table. Same hole.

The door

Every panel we track, lined up at the Explorer 1000 v2's solar input

Every panel we track, stood in a line by the voltage on its label. That figure is the open-circuit voltage, Voc on the sticker, which is what a panel puts out with nothing connected to it. The black line is 60 V. Nothing we track reaches it.

The pale cap on each bar is the extra voltage a −10 °C morning adds, about 10% on top. On a station with a low limit, that cap is where panels get into trouble. Here the tallest panel we track clears the line with its cap on. I'd still put a Fluke on any panel before it met a new port, out of habit more than worry.

Hover a bar for the panel's name. If you own a panel that isn't here, type its Voc in the box and it joins the line.

Swipe sideways for the whole line-up.

020406080volts, open-circuit+1++yours?60 V · the lintel12 V · the step

Hover or tap a bar for the panel’s name and its verdict.

  • Fits through the door
  • Too tall
  • Extra height on a −10 °C morning
  • Maker prints only the operating voltage; the real height is above the dashes
  • 1Our pick: BLUETTI 350W

What we'd buy

The best solar panel for the Explorer 1000 v2

Picked by the numbers on this station, not by brand.

Best overall

BLUETTI 350W Solar Panel (PV350)

2 panels deliver 400 W, the most the input takes.

Check price at BLUETTI

Best value

Eco-Worthy 200W Flexible HJT Solar Panel 18V ETFE 18BB (GW-L02AM200HJT2)

About $1.80 for every watt it actually delivers here. 4 panels deliver 400 W, the most the input takes.

Check price at Eco-Worthy

Best to carry

Renogy 200W Portable Solar Panel Blanket (RPP200SB-SE)

144 W from a 8.82 lb panel, the most delivered watts per pound.

Check price at Renogy

A day on solar

How long the Explorer 1000 v2 takes to charge on solar

A little under three hours with the input full, which sixteen of the panels that fit can manage as a set. A single 200 W panel needs a bit over seven hours on its own. A single 100 W panel needs about fifteen.

A good day has three to six hours of sun that strong. The full set is done by lunch. The one 200 W panel runs into a second day, and the 100 W panel runs well past a weekend. On my deck in January the pines take a bite out of both ends of that range, so I'd plan on the short end. The system builder does the same arithmetic for your state.

a good day's sun: 3 to 6 h0 h1 h2 h3 h4 h5 h6 h7 h8 h9 h10 h11 h12 h13 h14 h15 h16 hInput full (400 W) · full in 2.7 hOne 200 W panel (144 W delivered) · full in 7.4 hOne 100 W panel (72 W delivered) · full in 14.9 h

Hours of good sun, from empty. Where you live and the month decide how many of those a day gives; the system builder works it out.

Every panel that fits

Solar panels compatible with the Explorer 1000 v2

Thirty-one fit. For each one: the cable it needs, what a single panel delivers in good sun, and the most the input will take from a set of them. Four plug straight in with no adapter, all of them Jackery's. Most of the adapters on the list are MC4-to-DC8020. MC4 is the snap-together plug most panels end in, and DC8020 is the 8 mm barrel the Explorer takes. Sorted by delivered watts.

Jackery's own, the pairings it documents

Everyone else's

Own a panel that isn't in the line-up?

Type its voltage into the door chart above for the height test, then put the rest of the label into the panel checker, already set to the Explorer 1000 v2, for current and plug too. Or build the whole system to see how it keeps up where you live.

The plain answers

How long does the Explorer 1000 v2 take to charge on solar?

One 100 W panel delivers about 72 W in good sun and refills the 1070 Wh battery from empty in about 14.9 hours.

One 200 W panel delivers about 144 W in good sun and refills the 1070 Wh battery from empty in about 7.4 hours.

At its 400 W solar limit it refills in about 2.7 hours. More panel watts than that won't charge it any faster.

A day gives three to six hours of sun that good, depending on season and place, so one 100 W panel takes 3 to 5 days to fill it. The system builder works it out for your state and month.

What adapter does the Explorer 1000 v2 need for solar?

None, if the panel's plug is DC8020: Jackery SolarSaga 80W, Jackery SolarSaga 200W, Jackery SolarSaga 100 Air and 1 other plug straight in. No solar adapter comes in the Explorer 1000 v2's box, so any other panel needs a cable bought separately.

The cables the other panels need: MC4 to DC8020 (11 panels), Anderson to DC8020 (3 panels), DC5521 to DC8020 (2 panels) and XT60 to DC8020 (1 panel).

10 panels don't have a named plug from their maker, so check the lead before you buy a cable.

Can you use non-Jackery solar panels with the Explorer 1000 v2?

Yes. What decides it is the panel's voltage and plug, not the brand. 24 panels from Renogy, Anker SOLIX, EcoFlow, BLUETTI, Eco-Worthy and Rich Solar work with it, as long as the panel stays under 60 V on a cold morning and starts above 12 V.

The strongest single panels here are the Renogy 590W N-Type Bifacial (400 W delivered) and the Anker SOLIX 440W Rigid (317 W delivered).

Can you connect two solar panels to the Explorer 1000 v2?

Yes. It has 2 solar inputs, so the simplest way is one panel on each. Use the same panel model on both. Jackery's inputs share a controller, and mismatched panels hold each other back.

Wired in series, up to 2 Jackery SolarSaga 100 Prime panels fit under its 60 V limit, even on a -10°C morning. Series adds voltage; parallel adds current.

Past 400 W delivered, more panels only help on cloudy days.

What is the Explorer 1000 v2's solar input?

DC8020 input port 1 (DC 8mm; shared with car charging): 12–60 V, up to 10.5 A. DC8020 input port 2 (DC 8mm; shared with car charging): 12–60 V, up to 10.5 A. 400 W across all inputs together.

Input limits from Jackery's documents, checked 2026-09-18 (source). Delivered watts assume 72% of the panel's rating in good sun.

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