Size a portable power station from the devices you run

Capacity, continuous watts, and startup surge are checked separately. Hours update as you type.

Start from a common load

Fills the load below, including a sensible starting set of hours. Adjust anything afterward.

Brand and model

Manufacturer packshots. Specs on each model page name the source URL.

Select appliance to test

Tap to add. Tap again to remove. Hours update as you type.

Your load

Edit watts and hours. The result updates as you type.

Nothing in the load yet. Tap a chip above, or add a custom appliance.

Estimated runtime

0 h

Pick a model and add a load. Hours update live.

Capacity: 0 Wh
Load: 0 W
If all at once: 0 h

Add appliances to see which limit binds.

Meters, mix, and checks

Daily energy

0 Wh

No appliances yet

Battery to shop

0 Wh

Includes inverter loss and reserve

Startup surge

0 W

Checked against inverter surge, not boost

Solar to cover the day

0 W

Peak sun hours times the inverter efficiency you set

Energy mix

Checks

Backup days, solar, and constants

Backup daysPeak sun hoursInverter efficiencyReserve marginSolar array you already have (W)

Charging strategy

Compare two models

Model AModel B

Add devices, then pick two models.

These numbers are estimates

Runtime depends on temperature, battery age, inverter losses, and how your specific device behaves. Treat every figure here as a planning estimate, not a guaranteed runtime.

Not medical advice. A portable power station is not a medical device and is not a substitute for the battery system your equipment manufacturer specifies. If you depend on a therapy device, confirm your backup plan with your equipment provider and your clinician before an outage, not during one.

Not electrical advice. Never feed a power station back into a wall outlet, a dryer outlet, or your home's wiring. Doing so can injure or kill a utility worker and is illegal in many jurisdictions. Whole-home backup needs a transfer switch installed by a licensed electrician.

A "solar generator" is a battery with an optional solar input. It does not generate power on its own, and without panels it is limited to what you charge into it.

Built to answer the question, not sell a tier

Sized from your devices, not a category average

Enter what you actually run: a CPAP, a fridge, a router. The recommendation follows the arithmetic rather than a marketing tier.

Two checks, not one

Capacity and output are separate constraints. A station that holds enough energy but cannot start your fridge is not a match, so both are tested.

Every spec traceable to a source

Model pages carry the manufacturer URL and the date each figure was verified. Nothing in the database is written from memory.

Common questions

Is a portable power station the same as a solar generator?

The industry uses the terms interchangeably, but the device is a battery with an optional solar input. It does not generate electricity. Without panels, it only holds what you put into it.

Can I run my whole house from one?

No. Whole-home backup needs a transfer switch and a licensed electrician. Feeding a power station into household wiring is dangerous and illegal in many places. These units run appliances directly, one or a few at a time.

Why does the calculator ask about a humidifier?

A CPAP with a heated humidifier can draw roughly twice the power of one without. Combining them into a single default would give people an answer that is wrong by a wide margin, in the direction that matters most.

More detail:how to size a solar generator,CPAP backup,a camping day, andverified station specs.

These numbers are estimates

Runtime depends on temperature, battery age, inverter losses, and how your specific device behaves. Treat every figure here as a planning estimate, not a guaranteed runtime.

A "solar generator" is a battery with an optional solar input. It does not generate power on its own, and without panels it is limited to what you charge into it.