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Solar · Jackery

Solar panels for the Jackery Explorer 2000 v2

Written by Ian Schneider·Solar & Off-Grid Tester

The Explorer 2000 v2 takes solar through two DC8020 sockets, the 8 mm barrel plug Jackery also uses for the car charging cable. Each accepts 11 to 60 volts, and the manual caps the pair at 400 W. Thirty-one of the forty-one panels we track publish a voltage, seven of them Jackery's own, and every one of the thirty-one sits under 60.

So the wait belongs to the battery. 2042 Wh at a full 400 W is a little over five hours of good sun, and sixteen of the thirty-one can hold the input there as a set. One does it alone, Renogy's 590 W rigid, a rooftop panel that outweighs the station. One 200 W folding panel on its own needs about fourteen hours. For a weekend at the cabin I'd carry two of those, one on each socket, and let Saturday do the work.

The door
11–60 V
Its width
400 W
Plug
DC8020
Full battery, best case
~5.1 h
Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 portable power station
The spec row splits each socket into two bands, one up to 16 volts at 8 amps and one above it at 12. The manual never says which band the car gets.

The door

Every panel we track, lined up at the Explorer 2000 v2's solar input

The chart lines up every panel we track by the voltage printed on its back label. That figure is Voc, the open-circuit voltage, which is what a panel pushes out in sun with nothing plugged into it. The Explorer's black line sits at 60 V. Every bar stops short of it.

Each bar wears a pale cap for the extra voltage a minus 10 °C morning adds, about 10% on this chart. My deck gets mornings like that from December on, and on a station with a low ceiling the cap is what tips a panel over. Here even the tallest bar, Renogy's 590 W rigid at 52.63 V, keeps its cap under the line.

Hover a bar for the panel's name. If your panel isn't among them, type its Voc in the box and the chart draws a bar for it.

Swipe sideways for the whole line-up.

020406080volts, open-circuit+1++yours?60 V · the lintel11 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 2000 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 2000 v2 takes to charge on solar

A little over five hours with the input full, which sixteen of the panels that fit can manage as a set. One 200 W panel on its own gives about 144 W and needs about fourteen hours. One 100 W panel gives about 72 W and needs about twenty-eight.

A good day holds three to six hours of sun that strong. The full set is done inside one of them. One 200 W panel runs past a weekend even on the best of those days, and the 100 W panel needs the better part of a week at least. On my deck the pines take the late afternoon off the long end, so I'd plan on the short one. Our system builder runs that count for your state and month.

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 h23 h24 h25 h26 h27 h28 h29 hInput full (400 W) · full in 5.1 hOne 200 W panel (144 W delivered) · full in 14.2 hOne 100 W panel (72 W delivered) · full in 28.4 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 2000 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 plugs that rooftop and most large folding panels end in, and need an MC4-to-DC8020 adapter. Jackery's SolarSaga 500 X and 100 Prime need an Anderson-to-DC8020 lead instead. Jackery sells a solar panel connector separately for the day you want two 100 W panels on one socket. 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 2000 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 2000 v2 take to charge on solar?

One 100 W panel delivers about 72 W in good sun and refills the 2042 Wh battery from empty in about 28.4 hours.

One 200 W panel delivers about 144 W in good sun and refills the 2042 Wh battery from empty in about 14.2 hours.

At its 400 W solar limit it refills in about 5.1 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 5 to 10 days to fill it. The system builder works it out for your state and month.

What adapter does the Explorer 2000 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 2000 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 2000 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 11 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 2000 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 2000 v2's solar input?

DC8020 input port 1 (DC 8mm; shared with car charging): 11–60 V, up to 12 A. DC8020 input port 2 (DC 8mm; shared with car charging): 11–60 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.