I have often said that today’s vehicles have more cup holders than you can possibly stuff with drinks. We often suggest using one of them to hold a phone mount but this suggestion is a little different. Thanks to Energizer, you can also use a spare cup holder to create a power center. With 4 USB ports and 1 standard North American AC 3-prong outlet, you can run and charge up to 5 devices at a time. Think about it. This means that you can power a laptop or DVD player, two tablets and two smartphones at the same time. Just supply the cables and devices and you probably have more power choices than your home wall outlet.
The inverter base will reside in a spare cup holder in your car. The base comes with an attached DC power charger which will plug into your car’s power outlet. There is an indicator light when power is coming your way. The charging base is capable of outputting 120W continuous and 240W peak power. The USB ports deliver 2.1 AMPS which is what today’s smartphones and tablets require. The device even has a sensor built-in when it detects that the power coming into the base is insufficient. As the battery is used, its voltage begins to fall. When the EN120 senses that the voltage at its DC input has dropped to 10.5V, the inverter automatically shuts down and the light glows red, indicating a fault. This prevents the battery from being damaged. You should turn off any devices that are being powered and figure out why the battery is draining (likely because your car isn’t running).
When using the EN120, you probably want to ensure your car is running because it’s easy to drain your battery when charging electronics. If your car isn’t running, you are in essence transferring power from your car to your devices so running your car will continue to charge the car battery. Think of it similarly to leaving your headlights on when you park the car. The EN120 with devices actively charging can drain your battery in a similar way.
The EN120 doesn’t come with outlet covers which is too bad. This means you need to be extra careful not to spill any liquids on the base especially if it’s plugged into the car’s power outlet. The AC port can especially benefit from a cover to prevent accidental contact with a child’s fingers so it might be a good idea to have a child proof cover on them which I have seen available for a small price and would be similar to what you would use on your outlets at home.
The Energizer EN120 120 Watt Car Cup Holder Power Inverter is a very handy device to have in a car where power outlets are few or in cases where there are plans to have a lot of passengers on a long trip. It prevents battery drain on your devices and potentially ensures hours of individual entertainment on a very long trip.