Power station for lights, phones, TV and a fan in an outage
For most short outages the basics are light, phone charge, news and a little air movement. These loads are small and have no start-up surge, so almost any power station runs them. What matters is how many hours they add up to.
Typical numbers
| Item | Typical running | Assumed use | Energy per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| LED lights (5 bulbs) | 45 W | 5 h | 225 Wh |
| Phone charging (4 phones) | 20 W | 3 h | 60 Wh |
| TV (55 inch LED) | 100 W | 4 h | 400 Wh |
| Box or ceiling fan | 60 W | 8 h | 480 Wh |
| All four | 225 W if all on at once | as above | 1,165 Wh |
Typical values, the same ones the calculator uses. Your TV, bulbs and fan may differ a lot; the label or a plug-in watt meter on yours wins.
Worked example: one day of the basics (1,165 Wh)
With 85% of rated capacity usable, days of the basics per full charge:
| Battery rating | Usable | Days of all four |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 Wh | 850 Wh | about 0.7 day |
| 2,000 Wh | 1,700 Wh | about 1.5 days |
| 3,000 Wh | 2,550 Wh | about 2.2 days |
Good to know
- The TV and the fan are most of the total. Drop the TV for a battery radio and the day falls from 1,165 Wh to 765 Wh.
- Phones need little energy: a full phone charge is roughly 10 to 15 Wh, so 4 phones are well inside the 60 Wh above.
- Many lights, fans and chargers run from USB or 12 V DC. That skips the inverter and its idle loss.
- Add a fridge (see fridge) and the fridge, not these basics, sets the battery size.
- Recharging from solar or a car adds hours; see solar panels to recharge.
Open the calculator with lights, phones, TV and fan filled in
Appliance figures are typical values, not measurements of your devices. The sums assume 85% of a battery's rated capacity reaches your outlets (how the numbers work). We list no prices and have not hands-on tested any product.
Back to the calculator · Work from home · Wi-Fi and satellite · Fridge · CPAP