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What size power station do I need for a power outage?
Add up the running watts of everything you want on at the same time and pick a station whose continuous rating covers that total and whose surge rating covers your fridge’s starting watts. Then add up watt-hours for the time you want to cover (watts × hours) and divide by 0.765 to allow for the calculator’s default 90% depth of discharge and 85% inverter efficiency. In our example, a fridge, router, phone, light and laptop come to about 2,180 Wh of capacity for 24 hours; the router, phone and light alone come to about 455 Wh.
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Models that meet this
Filter: AC outlet, at least 455 Wh capacity and 27 W continuous output for the router, phone and light example (12 + 10 + 5 W together; 348 Wh ÷ 0.765 ≈ 455 Wh). This is the small-load subset, not the full fridge-and-laptop example.
Replace the example loads with your own appliance figures.
Step 1: Add up watts for things that run at the same time
A station’s continuous rating is the most it can supply at once. Add the running watts of everything you expect to have on together. In the example below that is 237 W, within the continuous rating of every station we list that has an AC outlet. The example fridge’s 1,200 W start is the harder test: the station’s listed surge rating should cover it.
Step 2: Add up watt-hours for the day
For each item, multiply running watts by the share of time it’s on and the hours you want it to run. The table uses the example figures from our calculator’s presets and example hours of use; they are assumptions, not measurements.
| Item | Running watts | Share of time on | Hours per day | Watt-hours per day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-size refrigerator (example) | 150 W | 30% | 24 | 1,080 Wh |
| Wi-Fi router | 12 W | 100% | 24 | 288 Wh |
| Phone charging | 10 W | 100% | 3 | 30 Wh |
| Small light | 5 W | 100% | 6 | 30 Wh |
| Laptop | 60 W | 100% | 4 | 240 Wh |
| Total | 237 W | — | — | 1,668 Wh |
Step 3: Allow for losses
Not all of a battery’s rated capacity reaches your appliance. Our calculator assumes 90% depth of discharge and 85% inverter efficiency, so usable energy is about 0.765 of the rated watt-hours. 1,668 Wh ÷ 0.765 ≈ 2,180 Wh of rated capacity for 24 hours of the full example. The router, phone and light alone need 348 Wh ÷ 0.765 ≈ 455 Wh. To cover more days, multiply by the number of days, or recharge in between.
How do I find my appliance’s watts?
Read the label or nameplate on the appliance or its charger, or check its manual. The watts in our example are planning assumptions, the same as the presets in our calculator, not measurements. A fridge also needs more power for a moment when its compressor starts, so check its starting watts against a station’s surge rating.
Our stations grouped by capacity
Each maker’s listed capacity, continuous and surge figures, as shown on our product pages. Listed A–Z within each group.
Under 300 Wh
- Anker SOLIX C300 DC: 288 Wh, 300 W rated output (no AC outlet listed), surge not listed.
- BLUETTI EB3A: 268.8 Wh, 600 W continuous, surge 1,200 W.
- EcoFlow RIVER 2: 243 Wh, 300 W continuous, surge 600 W.
- Jackery Explorer 240 v2: 256 Wh, 300 W continuous, surge 600 W.
- Jackery Explorer 300 Plus: 288 Wh, 300 W continuous, surge 600 W.
About 500 to 800 Wh
- Anker SOLIX C800: 768 Wh, 1,200 W continuous, surge not listed.
- EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max: 512 Wh, 500 W continuous, surge 1,000 W.
- Goal Zero Yeti 700: 677.37 Wh, 600 W continuous, surge 1,000 W.
- Jackery Explorer 500 v2: 512 Wh, 500 W continuous, surge 1,000 W.
About 1,000 to 1,300 Wh
- Anker SOLIX C1000: 1,056 Wh, 1,800 W continuous, surge not listed.
- Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2: 1,024 Wh, 2,000 W continuous, surge 3,000 W.
- BLUETTI AC180: 1,152 Wh, 1,800 W continuous, surge 2,700 W.
- EcoFlow DELTA 2: 1,024 Wh, 1,800 W continuous, surge 2,700 W.
- Goal Zero Yeti 1000: 998.4 Wh, 2,000 W continuous, surge 3,600 W.
- Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus: 1,264 Wh, 2,000 W continuous, surge 4,000 W.
- Jackery Explorer 1000 v2: 1,024 Wh, 1,500 W continuous, surge 3,000 W.
2,000 Wh or more
- Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2: 2,048 Wh, 2,400 W continuous, surge 4,000 W.
- Jackery Explorer 2000 v2: 2,042 Wh, 2,200 W continuous, surge 4,400 W.
For fridge runtimes across all of these stations, see How long will a power station run a refrigerator? To try your own numbers, use the runtime calculator.
Do I need a power station at all?
Not necessarily. Ready.gov says to plan for batteries and other alternative power sources to meet your needs when the power goes out, such as a portable charger or power bank, and to have alternate plans for refrigerating medicines or using power-dependent medical devices. For phones and a light, a power bank may be enough.
Models mentioned
EcoFlow RIVER 2
Specs and sources are on the product page.
Jackery Explorer 240 v2
Specs and sources are on the product page.
BLUETTI EB3A
Specs and sources are on the product page.
Anker SOLIX C300 DC
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Jackery Explorer 300 Plus
Specs and sources are on the product page.
EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max
Specs and sources are on the product page.
Jackery Explorer 500 v2
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Goal Zero Yeti 700
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Anker SOLIX C800
Specs and sources are on the product page.
Goal Zero Yeti 1000
Specs and sources are on the product page.
Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2
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EcoFlow DELTA 2
Specs and sources are on the product page.
Anker SOLIX C1000
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Jackery Explorer 1000 v2
Specs and sources are on the product page.
BLUETTI AC180
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Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus
Specs and sources are on the product page.
Jackery Explorer 2000 v2
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Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2
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Sources
- Ready.gov, Power outages, retrieved 7 November 2026.
- Introduction to Anker SOLIX C1000, service.anker.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the Anker SOLIX C1000 figures.
- Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station (US product page), us.anker.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 figures.
- Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station (US product page), us.anker.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 figures.
- Anker SOLIX C300 DC Portable Power Station (US product page), us.anker.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the Anker SOLIX C300 DC figures.
- Anker SOLIX C300 DC Portable Power Station (German product page), www.anker.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the Anker SOLIX C300 DC figures.
- Anker SOLIX C800 Portable Power Station user guide (A1753), US 120 V version, support.ankersolix.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the Anker SOLIX C800 figures.
- Anker SOLIX C800 Portable Power Station user guide (A1753), 220–240 V regional version, service.anker.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the Anker SOLIX C800 figures.
- BLUETTI AC180 product page (US), www.bluettipower.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the BLUETTI AC180 figures.
- BLUETTI AC180 user manual PDF, s4.bluettipower.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the BLUETTI AC180 figures.
- BLUETTI EB3A product page (US), marked discontinued, www.bluettipower.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the BLUETTI EB3A figures.
- EcoFlow DELTA 2 Portable Power Station (US product page), us.ecoflow.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the EcoFlow DELTA 2 figures.
- EcoFlow DELTA 2 user manual V1.0 (English PDF), websiteoss.ecoflow.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the EcoFlow DELTA 2 figures.
- EcoFlow RIVER 2 (240) Portable Power Station (US product page), us.ecoflow.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the EcoFlow RIVER 2 figures.
- EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max Portable Power Station (US product page), us.ecoflow.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max figures.
- Goal Zero Yeti 1000 portable power station, goalzero.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the Goal Zero Yeti 1000 figures.
- Goal Zero Yeti 700 portable power station, goalzero.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the Goal Zero Yeti 700 figures.
- Explorer 1000 Plus basic information (Jackery support, updated 15 October 2026), www.jackery.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus figures.
- Jackery comparison: Explorer 1000, 1000 Pro, 1000 Plus, and 1000 v2, www.jackery.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus figures.
- Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 product page, Jackery, retrieved 8 November 2026. Used for the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 figures.
- Explorer 2000 v2 basic information (Jackery support, updated 24 September 2026), faq.jackery.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 figures.
- Jackery Explorer 240 v2 vs. 300D vs. 300 vs. 300 Plus, www.jackery.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the Jackery Explorer 240 v2 figures.
- Jackery Explorer 240 v2 vs. 300D vs. 300 vs. 300 Plus, www.jackery.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the Jackery Explorer 300 Plus figures.
- Explorer 500 v2 basic information (Jackery support, updated 15 October 2026), www.jackery.com, retrieved 7 November 2026. Used for the Jackery Explorer 500 v2 figures.
- BlackoutSmart runtime calculator and methodology, for the formula and the default assumptions.
Published . Updated . By BlackoutSmart Team. Specs and figures are from the sources above; nothing here is hands-on tested.