Growatt VITA 550 Review: Providing Portable Power When You Need It Most

We recently had a thunderstorm that knocked the power out at my school. I was stuck across the street in the football field house, but my first class came in and used the Growatt VITA 550 I was reviewing to charge their devices. I often bring items I have in for review to show my tech classes, and they were excited to have access to this product in particular.

The Growatt VITA 550 is a compact portable power station that sports LifePO4 batteries for up to 3,000 life cycles; it has a 538Wh(watt hour) battery capacity and a power output of up to 600W.

The 500W wall charger will take the VITA 550 from 0% to 80% in one hour; the 240W of solar charging will reach 100% in 2.5 hours, and the 100W 12V/24V vehicle charging cable will keep you powered up on any long trip.

The Growatt VITA 550 comes with wall, solar, and car charging cables. It’s worth noting that no power brick is necessary for wall charging.

The Growatt VITA 550 is small, ultra-portable, and well-designed with a rugged build. It measures 12.2″ x 8.4″ x 7.8″ and only weighs 17.99 pounds. The flip-up handle is a nice touch, making the power station easy to move and store; this is truly an on-the-go power option.

Plenty of output options are included; on the right side, there are three AC plugs with a max output of 660W, two DC5521 outputs with a max output of 36W, and a covered DC port (car outlet) with an output of 132W max.

The bottom left includes a USB-C 100W outlet, three 12W USB-A ports, and an 18W USB-A port. The top of the Growatt VITA 550 case also includes a 15W wireless charging pad.

Each output bank has a button to turn them on and off and can be toggled in the Growatt App.

The 1W LED light on the front is handy and bright for its size; I like that it is included on the front panel.

The Growatt VITA 550 only needs two different charging ports on the side. A protective cover keeps them clean while on the go; there is also a toggle switch to turn the Fast Charge on or off.

The display is clear and easy to read and includes all important information; power input and output numbers are included, as well as charge levels and time of current use left. It’s great for helping you manage charging and recharging times and seeing your power levels and usage.

To protect all of your devices, the Growatt VITA 550 also includes a battery management system that provides over/under temperature protection, under/over voltage protection, overcharging protection, over-discharging protection, overload protection, and short circuit protection.

With it, some examples are given, showing that you can expect to recharge a 60W laptop up to 8 times, a 13Wh smartphone up to 35 times, and a 10Wh camera up to 46 times.

The Growatt VITA 550 is not really powerful enough to use for appliances for an extended period, but even so, it can run a 300W blender for 1.5 hours, a 900W hairdryer for 0.5 hours, a 700W cooker for 0.65 hours, and an 800W coffeemaker for 0.5 hours.

It can also be a backup/uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for medical devices like CPAPs. With the VITA 550 plugged into the wall and the CPAP plugged into one of the power station’s AC ports, depending on the CPAP’s wattage, you can expect it to stay powered in a blackout for 7 to 15 hours.

You can use the calculation of working time = 538Wh*0.85/CPAP-wattage to figure out how long the VITA 550 can power your particular medical device.

The Growatt app is available for Android and iOS and can be downloaded by scanning the code located on the VITA 550; you must sign up for a Growatt account on the app to use it.

I have tried many of these types of apps, and I can say that the Growatt app is by far the quickest and easiest to connect to. All controls and information are available for input and output levels and some setting changes.

Don’t let the smaller size fool you; the Growatt VITA 550 is a well-designed compact power station that is built like a tank. The convenient handle flips up for use and down for storage, and the power station will easily fit inside a vehicle or tent. You can quickly recharge it via AC, car, or solar to keep your devices powered and charged.

Because it is lighter and more compact than many of the larger power stations we’ve reviewed, the Growatt VITA 550 is great for on-the-go use, camping, at-home use during power outages, and as a backup/uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for medical devices during emergencies.

If you’re looking for a great all-around portable power supply, look no further than the Growatt VITA 550!

The Growatt VITA 550 retails for $529.00 (it is on sale for $399.00 as of this writing); it is available directly from the manufacturer and other retailers, including Amazon.

Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample

What I Like: Ruggedly built; Well-designed with 11 power outlets, including a 15W wireless charger on the top; Built-in carry handle; Built-in LED light; Charges very quickly via wall, solar, or car power sources; Weighs just under 18 pounds, so it is very portable; Can be used as a backup/uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for medical devices

What Needs Improvement: Nothing