A solar energy engineer, Julien de Jurquet is Best Batteries' technical reference for everything to do with photovoltaics and storage. Backed by long field experience, he joined the team in 2013, just as the company was broadening its range towards panels and power stations, and brought to it the rigor of a seasoned scientific profile. His signature is found on the site's most demanding solar tests, and on a good share of the blog's in-depth features.
Where others rely on the manufacturer's spec sheet, Julien measures. Real efficiency depending on sunlight, behavior in partial shade, conversion losses, how the cells hold up after several cycles at high temperature: over the years he has built a base of comparative measurements that serves as a reference for the whole team. A power station, he keeps repeating, is not judged by its advertised watt-hours, but by what it actually delivers once plugged into real devices.
His most improbable feat, which the team loves to bring up: a few years ago, Julien took part in installing the solar panels of the Princess Elisabeth polar research station, on the Antarctic continent. It is hard to imagine a more demanding real-world test than a photovoltaic array at minus forty degrees and katabatic winds. Enough to put a simple day of measurements under the Lozère sun into perspective afterwards.
A mountain lover, Julien sets off every summer on treks in the Alps or the Pyrenees, a solar panel strapped to his pack. It has become a team ritual: he is always handed the latest model to arrive, certain he will come back with a detailed report, a few photos, and sometimes a product a little more worn out than when it left.
Permanently mounted on the roof, a rigid solar panel charges the battery even while driving, with zero setup. But efficiency, weight per square metre and a fixed tilt angle change everything depending on the model. Here is our selection, from the small top-up panel to the system built for near-total energy independence.
Published on October 2, 2026 by Julien
A battery that no longer has enough punch for your electric vehicle or power station is not waste, it is often the start of a second career. Here is what actually happens between a battery's retirement and its final recycling.
Published on September 28, 2026 by Julien
How many watt-hours of battery and how many watts of panel do you need for a van, a bivouac, or home backup power? The complete four-step sizing method, with formulas and a worked example.
Published on September 26, 2026 by Julien
With a retractable USB-C cable rated at 60W on its own, this cigarette-lighter charger promises 90W for three devices at once. The math only truly works with two devices plugged in: the moment a third joins in, the power actually available drops to 75W, a nuance the product page only half spells out.
Published on September 22, 2026 by Julien
A screen for each bay, a 0V cell revival function and up to 22.5W of output: the PB2SL V2 delivers on a genuine two-in-one charger promise, provided you know the real conditions behind its fast charging and leave AA batteries out of the picture.
Published on September 22, 2026 by Julien
Bare microinverter, smart plug-and-play battery, or a complete kit with panels included: we compared six balcony solar solutions to help you choose according to your budget and existing setup.
Published on September 22, 2026 by Julien
Commercial Faraday bags, homemade metal boxes, the foil-wrapped-trash-can myth: here is what actually blocks electromagnetic fields, what does nothing at all, and how to test it yourself without a lab.
Published on September 20, 2026 by Julien
167.5W spread across three ports, including 100W able to charge a MacBook Pro from the 12V socket: the Anker 167.5W car charger fits into a body barely bigger than a key fob.
Published on September 11, 2026 by Julien
On 4 September 2026, at IFA Berlin, EcoFlow unveiled two products with very different audiences: the RIVER Gen4 range, two compact 256 Wh and 512 Wh stations with a sub-10 ms UPS switchover, and the PowerRock 4000, an IP65-rated industrial power station. No pricing has been announced yet.
Published on September 5, 2026 by Julien
One bay, but sized for the largest formats on the market: the Xtar SC1 Plus charges a cylindrical cell from 18650 to 26800 over USB-C at up to 3A, where most of its Xtar siblings stop at 26650. Its second life as a small backup power bank is a function none of the multi-bay chargers in this comparison offer, but it caps at around 73% real-world efficiency. A clear trade-off: speed and emergency backup on one side, charging several cells at once on the other.
Published on September 17, 2026 by Julien
One USB-C port at 30W with Power Delivery and PPS, one USB-A port at 22.5W with PowerIQ 3.0: the Anker 323 car charger matches its closest rival on paper, in a case that is half the weight and with a clearly stated warranty.
Published on September 16, 2026 by Julien
The Votronic VCC 1212-30 charges a leisure battery at a regulated 30A straight out of the box, with no Bluetooth option at all, not even a paid one; the manufacturer has itself documented, then fixed, an internal fuse fault linked to insufficient ventilation.
Published on September 16, 2026 by Julien
Updated on July 29, 2026
