How long will a power station actually run your essentials?
Storm prep comes down to one table: your devices on the left, hours of coverage on the right. Every number below is battery capacity × 0.85 ÷ device draw, computed on the real units we track — no prices, no hands-on claims, just arithmetic you can redo yourself.
Affiliate disclosure: this guide contains links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through those links — at no extra cost to you. Commissions never enter our scoring formula, and no brand can pay for placement here.
The formula
One division, stated plainly
usable Wh = battery capacity (Wh) × 0.85 — the 0.85 reserves about 15%
for inverter conversion losses and the battery management system's cutoff.
runtime hours = usable Wh ÷ device draw (W)
Worked example with a real unit from our tracked set: the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 carries 1,070 Wh, so 1,070 × 0.85 = 909.5 usable Wh. Against a 60 W average refrigerator draw that is ≈ 15 hours; against a 10 W router, ≈ 3.8 days. Every cell in the table below is the same division.
The assumptions
What the essentials draw
Typical running watts, stated before the math so you can swap in your own nameplate numbers. The refrigerator row already folds in its compressor duty cycle: 150 W while running × ~40% duty ≈ 60 W average.
| Device | Draw used | Assumption |
|---|---|---|
| Full-size refrigerator | 60 W | 150 W running × ~40% compressor duty ≈ 60 W average |
| CPAP, humidifier off | 30 W × 8 h | per 8-hour night |
| CPAP, heated humidifier on | 60 W × 8 h | per 8-hour night |
| Wi-Fi router | 10 W | if the ISP side stays up |
| LED bulb | 10 W | one 10 W LED |
| Laptop | 60 W | typical thin-and-light draw |
| Phone | 15 Wh/charge | ≈15 Wh per full charge |
| Box fan | 50 W | medium speed |
| 32-inch TV | 60 W | LED-backlit |
| Microwave | 1000 W | full power; short bursts only |
The table
Runtime by capacity class
Three classes, each computed on a real representative unit we track. A dash means the unit's inverter cannot supply that load at all — no amount of battery fixes an undersized inverter.
| Device | ~300 Wh Jackery Explorer 300 Plus |
~1,000 Wh Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 |
~2,000 Wh Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-size refrigerator | 4.1 h | 15 h | 29 h |
| CPAP, humidifier off | 1.0 | 3.8 | 7.2 |
| CPAP, heated humidifier on | 0.5 | 1.9 | 3.6 |
| Wi-Fi router | 1.0 days | 3.8 days | 7.2 days |
| LED bulb | 24 h | 91 h | 174 h |
| Laptop | 4.1 h | 15 h | 29 h |
| Phone | 16 | 60 | 115 |
| Box fan | 4.9 h | 18 h | 35 h |
| 32-inch TV | 4.1 h | 15 h | 29 h |
| Microwave | — | 55 min | 104 min |
Nights = 8-hour sleep sessions; "charges" = full phone refills; days = 24-hour wall-clock coverage. Source: official manufacturer specifications for every input. This is arithmetic on published specs, not a discharge test.
Each column is computed on one representative unit. Also in class: ~300 Wh — Jackery Explorer 300 Plus, BLUETTI Elite 30 V2 Portable Power Station; ~1,000 Wh — Jackery Explorer 1000 v2, Bluetti AC180; ~2,000 Wh — Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus, Bluetti AC200L;
What actually matters
Four specs that decide an outage
| Model | Surge | Solar input | Chemistry | Cycle life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackery Explorer 300 Plus | 600 W | 100 W | LiFePO4 | 4000 cycles to 70% |
| BLUETTI Elite 30 V2 Portable Power Station | 1,500 W | 200 W | LiFePO4 | 3000+ cycles to 80% |
| Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 | 3,000 W | 400 W | LiFePO4 | 4000 cycles to 70% |
| Bluetti AC180 | 2,700 W | 500 W | LiFePO4 | 3500+ cycles to 80% |
| Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus | 6,000 W | 1,400 W | LiFePO4 | 4000 cycles to 70% |
| Bluetti AC200L | 3,600 W | 1,200 W | LiFePO4 | 3000+ cycles to 80% |
- Surge watts start the fridge. A compressor's startup spike runs several times its 150 W running draw. Every unit above carries 600-6,000 W of surge headroom — the manufacturer's own figure, linked from each product page.
- EPS/UPS switchover keeps the router up. Units with EPS pass-through switch to battery in milliseconds, so Wi-Fi and a CPAP never notice the blackout. Check the product page spec sheet if you plan to keep a CPAP or desktop plugged in full-time.
- LiFePO4 sits on a shelf for years. All six units use LiFePO4 cells rated for 3,000-4,000+ cycles — charge to 100% before landfall, top up every few months, and the pack outlives the storm season by a decade.
- Solar input decides day two and beyond. The Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus accepts up to 1,400 W of solar, refilling its 2,043 Wh in about 1.5 hours of ideal sun at maximum input. Panel watts, not battery watt-hours, are the multi-day bottleneck — see our portable solar panels ranking for pairings.
The honest limit
Beyond 2-3 days, watt-hours run out
A power station is a finite tank. Even the largest unit we track, the EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 (4,096 Wh), drains in days under a fridge-plus-comms load without strong sun. If your outage risk is measured in weeks — Gulf Coast hurricane country, ice-storm corridors — stored battery is the first 48-72 hours, not the whole answer. The honest tool for week-long coverage is an inverter generator, and we score those with the same formula-first method: see the inverter generator ranking. Many storm-season households run both: battery for silent overnight power, generator to refill it by day.
Questions
Asked every storm season
Can a power station run a refrigerator?
Yes, if the inverter clears the compressor's startup surge. A modern fridge runs at about 150 W and cycles roughly 40% of the time (≈60 W average). On the units we track that is 4.1 h on a 288 Wh unit, 15 h on a 1,070 Wh unit, and 29 h on a 2,043 Wh unit of average-draw coverage. All six models in the three classes above carry surge ratings of 600-6,000 W, which covers typical fridge startup spikes.
What size power station do I need for a CPAP?
A CPAP draws about 30 W with the heated humidifier off and roughly 60 W with it on. Per 8-hour night that is 1.0 night on a 288 Wh unit, 3.8 nights on 1,070 Wh, and 7.2 nights on 2,043 Wh with the humidifier off — switching the humidifier on roughly halves those numbers. For multi-night storm coverage without recharging, the 1,000 Wh class is the practical floor.
Power station vs generator for hurricane season?
For outages measured in hours to 2-3 days, a power station is quieter, indoor-safe, and instant. Beyond 2-3 days without sun, stored watt-hours run out and an inverter generator becomes the honest answer — we score both categories separately and link them from this guide.
How long will a power station keep Wi-Fi running?
A router draws about 10 W, so a 1,070 Wh unit keeps it up for 3.8 days — comms are the cheapest load to protect and the first one worth wiring to battery.
Can a small power station run a microwave?
No. A full-power microwave draws about 1,000 W, above the 300-600 W inverters of the 300 Wh class — the table shows a dash there because the unit simply cannot supply the load. The 1,000 Wh class manages 55 min of burst cooking, the 2,000 Wh class 104 min — minutes, not meals.
How do I recharge a power station during a multi-day outage?
Solar input watts decide the refill. The Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus accepts up to 1,400 W of solar, so its 2,043 Wh refill in about 1.5 hours of ideal sun at maximum input — real days deliver a fraction of that, which is why panel watts matter as much as battery watt-hours past day one.
Next step
Pick your class, then your unit
The full ranking scores every power station we track on official specs — capacity, output, surge, solar input, weight — with the formula published. Start with the class your table row above points to.
Methodology, data sources, and our full monetization policy live on the How We Score page. Every spec above traces to the official brand page linked from each product sheet.