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Solar · Jackery

Solar panels for the Jackery Explorer 1500 v2

Written by Ian Schneider·Solar & Off-Grid Tester

The Explorer 1500 v2 takes solar at 16 to 60 volts and 400 W through two DC8020 sockets, the round barrel plug on Jackery's own panel cables. The manual wants a panel's open-circuit voltage inside that window. Open-circuit voltage, Voc on the back label, is what a panel puts out in sun with nothing connected to it. Thirty-one of the forty-one panels we track publish a Voc, seven of them Jackery's own, and all thirty-one fit.

One panel can fill that input by itself. Renogy's 590 W rigid delivers about 400 W in good sun, and the 1536 Wh battery is full in a little under four hours. Sixteen of the thirty-one can fill the input as a set. The Renogy is the only one that does it alone, and it weighs 58.4 pounds.

A panel that heavy stays where you set it down. I'd prop it on two sawhorses behind the cabin, clear of the pine shadows, and check the screen mid-afternoon. A 200 W folding panel is the other way to do this. It gives about 144 W on its own and needs about eleven hours, more than a day of good sun.

The door
16–60 V
Its width
400 W
Plug
DC8020
Full battery, best case
~3.8 h
Jackery Explorer 1500 v2 portable power station
Jackery's manual never says v2. The cover reads Explorer 1500, the model line reads JE-1500D, and every solar figure on this page comes from that document.

The door

Every panel we track, lined up at the Explorer 1500 v2's solar input

Every panel we track, stood in a line by its Voc. The black line is 60 V, and nothing reaches it. The window has a floor as well. Below 16 volts the manual files the socket under car charging, 11 to 16 volts and 8 amps, the band meant for a cigarette-lighter cable. The lowest panel we track, Renogy's 200 W blanket, reads 19.6 and clears the floor.

The pale cap on each bar is the extra voltage a −10 °C morning adds, about 10%. Not one cap crosses the line. On my deck in January that cap is the real reading, and on this station there is room for it.

Hover a bar for the panel's name. If you own a panel that isn't here, type its Voc below and the chart draws it a bar of its own.

Swipe sideways for the whole line-up.

020406080volts, open-circuit+1++yours?60 V · the lintel16 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 1500 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

Jackery SolarSaga 40 Air (JS-40C)

30 W from a 1.98 lb panel, the most delivered watts per pound.

Check price at Jackery

A day on solar

How long the Explorer 1500 v2 takes to charge on solar

A little under four hours with the input full. Sixteen of the thirty-one can get there, one of them on its own. A single 200 W folding panel gives about 144 W and needs about eleven hours. A single 100 W panel gives about 72 W and needs about twenty-one.

A good day has three to six hours of sun that strong. The full input is done in one afternoon. The one 200 W panel needs a second day, and the 100 W panel needs several more. Where you live and what month it is decide how many of those days you get. Our system builder runs that 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 h17 h18 h19 h20 h21 h22 hInput full (400 W) · full in 3.8 hOne 200 W panel (144 W delivered) · full in 10.7 hOne 100 W panel (72 W delivered) · full in 21.3 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 1500 v2

Thirty-one fit. For each: the cable it needs, what one panel delivers in good sun, and the biggest set the input will take. Four plug straight in, all of them Jackery's. Eleven arrive on MC4, the weatherproof snap-together plug most rigid panels end in, and want an MC4-to-DC8020 adapter. Others arrive on Anderson, XT60 or a smaller barrel, and each of those wants its own adapter. Putting two panels on one port takes Jackery's solar panel connector, sold separately, and the manual asks that the voltage at both ports match. 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 1500 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 1500 v2 take to charge on solar?

One 100 W panel delivers about 72 W in good sun and refills the 1536 Wh battery from empty in about 21.3 hours.

One 200 W panel delivers about 144 W in good sun and refills the 1536 Wh battery from empty in about 10.7 hours.

At its 400 W solar limit it refills in about 3.8 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 4 to 8 days to fill it. The system builder works it out for your state and month.

What adapter does the Explorer 1500 v2 need for solar?

None, if the panel's plug is DC8020: Jackery SolarSaga 100 Air, Jackery SolarSaga 80W, Jackery SolarSaga 40 Air and 1 other plug straight in. No solar adapter comes in the Explorer 1500 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 1500 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 16 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 1500 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.

Don't wire two Jackery SolarSaga 100 Air panels in series: together they would pass its 60 V limit. Parallel them instead.

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

What is the Explorer 1500 v2's solar input?

DC8020 input port 1 (manual labels the solar band 'PV'; same socket also takes a 12V car charger): 16–60 V, up to 12 A. DC8020 input port 2 (manual labels the solar band 'PV'; same socket also takes a 12V car charger): 16–60 V, up to 12 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.