Power station calculator: what will it run, how long?

• Battery: we count 80% of the stated capacity as usable, the share Jackery uses in its own runtime formula (checked November 9, 2026). Battery lasts = usable watt-hours ÷ the watt-hours your list uses in a day.
• Power: the station's AC output must cover everything on the list running at once, and its surge rating must also cover the largest motor starting, which we count at 3 times its running watts, as Virginia Cooperative Extension puts a motor’s starting draw. When a maker does not state surge, the AC output must cover it.
• Watts per item are typical figures, not your appliance's label: check the label for your own numbers. Sources: Virginia Cooperative Extension, Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use, U.S. Department of Energy EREC brief, Energy Use of Some Typical Home Appliances.

A model that does not state a value we check never counts as a match. Specs come from the makers' pages; each model page links to them. Data checked up to November 9, 2026. Matches are sorted cheapest first.

How to use it

Start with what you cannot do without: usually the refrigerator, a few lights, phones and a laptop, and for some homes a well pump or a furnace blower. Set the quantity to 0 for anything you can live without. The hours column is how long each item runs in a day; the refrigerator is counted from its yearly energy use, so leave it at 24 hours.

Then set how many days you want to cover without recharging. One day is a fair starting point for most short outages. If you have solar panels or can charge from a car, you can get by with less battery than the table asks for.

Three numbers decide it

AC output. Everything you switch on at the same time has to fit under the station's continuous AC output. If it does not, the station shuts off.

Surge. Motors, such as the compressor in a refrigerator or a well pump, draw several times their running power for a moment when they start. The station's surge rating has to cover that spike on top of everything else that is already running.

Battery capacity. Watt-hours decide how long it lasts. Some energy is lost turning battery power into household current, so we only count part of the stated capacity as usable.

Check your own labels

The watts here are typical figures from published tables, not your appliances. Most appliances list their watts or amps on a label; amps times 120 gives watts. A newer, efficient refrigerator often uses much less energy than the older one in our list, so with your own numbers you may need a smaller station than the table shows.

For a longer explanation of sizing, read how many watt-hours you need. If you want the station wired to your home's circuits, see transfer switches and home panels.