Power station sizing guides for camping, RV and home
Updated October 15, 2026
Short answer: about 300Wh covers a camping weekend of lights and phones, 2,000Wh with a 30A outlet suits an RV, and 1,000–2,000Wh keeps a fridge going in a blackout. Each guide below shows the math and the station we’d start with.
Camping weekend
What a 250–300Wh station covers, and when your 12V fridge needs 500–800Wh.
RV and van
Galley loads, TT-30 outlets, and why solar input matters more when you’re parked up.
Home blackout
Keeping your fridge, a lamp and the router going through a short outage.
Quick answers
Head-to-head comparisons
- EcoFlow RIVER 3 vs Jackery Explorer 300
- Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 vs EcoFlow DELTA 3
- Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 vs EcoFlow DELTA 3
- EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus vs DELTA 3
- Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 vs BLUETTI AC200PL
- Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 vs Explorer 1000 v2
- Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 vs Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2
- EcoFlow RIVER 3 Plus vs Jackery Explorer 240 v2
Which guide should you read first?
Read the camping weekend guide if the station is going in the car for a night or two. Read the RV and van guide if it’ll live in your rig and run a fridge, fans and a galley. Read the home blackout guide if the job is keeping your fridge, router and lamps going when the power drops.
Each one tells you the size we’d start with, how long it’ll run what you’re likely to plug in, and what that size won’t do. If none of those sound like you, the size calculator asks four questions and names a station.
How do you work out power station runtime?
Multiply the station’s watt-hours by 0.85, then divide by the average watts of what you’re running. The 0.85 allows for losses in the inverter. So a 1,024Wh station gives about 870Wh, which runs a 50W fridge for about 17 hours.
| Size class | Usable energy | 12V fridge at 50W | Kitchen fridge at 150W |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~250–300Wh | about 210–250Wh | about 4–5 hours | about 1 hour |
| ~500–800Wh | about 435–650Wh | about 8–13 hours | about 2–4 hours |
| ~1,000Wh | about 870–980Wh | about 17–19 hours | about 5–6 hours |
| ~2,000Wh | about 1,735–1,960Wh | about 34–39 hours | about 11–13 hours |
Common questions
- How long will a power station run a fridge?
- About 17 hours for a 12V fridge averaging 50W on a 1,024Wh station, and about 5 hours for a kitchen fridge averaging 150W. Our 1,000Wh fridge page has the full working.
- How long will a power station run a CPAP?
- A CPAP without a heated humidifier usually draws 30–60W. At 40W, a 300Wh-class station runs it for about 5–6 hours and a 1,000Wh station for about 21 hours. A heated humidifier can more than double the draw.