How long will a power station run it?

Enter the station’s capacity and what you want to plug in. You get the runtime, whether the station can handle the load, and what size you’d need.

Start from:

Your power station

On the label, e.g. 1024 Wh
Continuous rating, not surge

What you’ll plug in

ApplianceWattsHours/dayHow many

Watts are typical values. The label on your appliance, or a plug-in power meter, is more accurate.

Solar and efficiency
0 for no solar
About 3 to 6 in most of the US
85% is typical on AC

Results

Everything running at once
6 h 18 min
135 W combined
At your daily use
10 h 9 min
2,010 Wh a day

Based on 1,000 Wh rated capacity, of which about 850 Wh reaches your appliances (85% efficiency).

Start-up surge: motors can briefly pull up to about 1,275 W. Check that the station’s surge (peak) rating is at least that.

Station size for 1 day of backup

You need roughly 2,365 Wh of rated capacity and at least 300 W of output. The nearest common size is 3,000 Wh.

See 3,000 Wh power stations on Amazon

How the estimate works

A station rated 1,000 Wh doesn’t deliver all 1,000 Wh to your appliances. Converting battery power to wall-style AC loses some along the way, so the calculator assumes about 85% arrives. Runtime is that usable energy divided by what your appliances draw. The sizing guide walks through the math with an example.