List essentials
Choose the refrigerator, router, lights, phone charging, and any medical device you actually need.
Portable Power Stations for Home Backup
How to size a portable power station for a home outage using essential loads, runtime, and startup surge.
Start with the load, not the product
Home backup is not about powering everything. It is about keeping a short list of essential devices running for a known number of hours.
Measure hours
Eight hours is a useful starting point; longer outages need more capacity or a recharge plan.
Check surge
Compressors and pumps can draw several times their running watts for a moment.
Example essential loadout
A planning example. Replace these numbers with the labels on your own devices.
| Device | Running watts | Hours | Energy needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator | 200 W | 8.0 h | 1,882 Wh |
| Wi-Fi router | 15 W | 8.0 h | 141 Wh |
| LED lights | 20 W | 8.0 h | 188 Wh |
| Phone charging | 30 W | 8.0 h | 282 Wh |
| Laptop | 65 W | 4.0 h | 306 Wh |
Planning starting point: about 2,800Wh before reserve. Add 20–30% for battery aging, cold temperatures, and devices you forgot.
Models to compare
These are data-based starting points, not a claim that one product is best for every household.
| Model | Capacity | Output | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackery HomePower 2000 Plus v2 | 2,048 Wh | 2,400 W | $1,889 |
| EcoFlow DELTA 3 Max Plus | 2,048 Wh | 3,000 W | $1,149 |
| BLUETTI Premium 100 V2 | 1,024 Wh | 2,000 W | Check price |
| Jackery HomePower 3600 Plus | 3,584 Wh | 3,600 W | $3,999 |
Common questions
What size do I need for a fridge?
A 1,000–2,000Wh station is a common starting range, but duty cycle and startup surge matter.
Can I run a space heater?
Technically some stations can, but runtime is usually short and the load is inefficient.
Can I recharge during an outage?
Only with a planned solar setup or another power source; do not assume the grid will return quickly.