Portable Power Station Sizing Guide

Understanding Watts vs Watt-Hours

Before you can size a power station, you need to understand the difference between Watts (W) and Watt-Hours (Wh).

• Watts (W): This is the running power required by your device. For example, a laptop might use 60W, while a heater uses 1500W.
• Watt-Hours (Wh): This represents capacity. A 500Wh power station can theoretically run a 100W device for 5 hours (500 / 100 = 5).

How to Calculate Your Needs

Follow these steps to find your required size:

1. List your devices: Write down everything you plan to power at the same time.
2. Find the wattage: Check the power label on each device for its Wattage. Add them up. Your power station's inverter must be higher than this total number.
3. Estimate runtime: Multiply each device's wattage by the number of hours you plan to run it to get the Watt-Hours (Wh) needed.
4. Add a buffer: Because inverters aren't 100% efficient, add a 20% buffer to your total Wh requirement.