How long will a portable power station run a refrigerator?
A 1,000 Wh power station runs a household fridge drawing 200 W, cycling about a third of the time, for about 12.9 hours (12 h 53 min) through its AC inverter.
How to work it out
- 1,000 Wh = 1,000 Wh available
- 200 W ÷ 85% inverter × 33% of the time = 77.6 W
- 1,000 Wh ÷ 77.6 W = 12.9 hours (12 h 53 min)
In an outage the fridge is usually the first thing people want to keep running. Champion’s chart lists a household refrigerator at 150–400 running watts with an 800–1,200 W start surge; the extension-service rule of thumb is that it runs at full power about a third of the time.
Adjust for your project
More options: Efficiency · Duty · Reserve
- In hours and minutes
- 12 h 53 min
- Energy delivered to the load
- 850 Wh
- Average draw from the battery
- 77.6 W
Runtime by power station size
| Power station capacity | Runtime | Energy delivered to the load |
|---|---|---|
| 256 | 3.3 hours | 218 Wh |
| 500 | 6.4 hours | 425 Wh |
| 1000 | 12.9 hours | 850 Wh |
| 1500 | 19.3 hours | 1,275 Wh |
| 2000 | 25.8 hours | 1,700 Wh |
| 3600 | 46.4 hours | 3,060 Wh |
What to know about running a fridge from a power station
- The start surge comes first. Before you worry about hours, check that the power station’s surge rating covers the compressor’s start — up to 1,200 W on Champion’s chart. If it can’t start the fridge, the watt-hours don’t matter.
- Keep the door shut. A full, closed fridge cycles less; every opening adds compressor time and cuts the runtime.
- You don’t need it on all night. Many people run the fridge for a few hours, unplug it, and keep it closed; food safety guidance from your local health authority tells you how long it stays safe.
- Measure it once. A plug-in usage monitor on the fridge for a day gives its real watt-hours; divide the power station’s capacity × 0.85 by that for days of runtime.
To keep it running through a long outage, add panels — how many solar panels to run a refrigerator — or a generator: what size generator to run a refrigerator. The battery-and-inverter version is how long a 100Ah battery runs a fridge.
Different size? Use the full Power Station Runtime Calculator.
What you’ll need
- Portable power station (about 1,000 Wh)Premium price
Battery, inverter and charger in one box. Check both the watt-hour capacity and the inverter’s continuous and surge watts against what you plan to run.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Plug-in electricity usage monitorBudget price
Plugs in between the wall and a 120 V appliance and shows real watts and kWh over a day — the honest way to fill in a load list, especially for fridges that cycle on and off.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - 100 W solar panelMid-range price
The building block of most van, boat and RV systems. Check the data-sheet Voc and Isc before you decide how to wire several of them.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links to products are affiliate links — they cost you nothing extra and help keep these calculators free.
Frequently asked questions
How long will a 2,000 Wh power station run a refrigerator?
About 25.8 hours (25 h 45 min) for the same 200 W fridge.
How long will a power station run a mini fridge?
A mini fridge drawing about 75 W half the time runs about 22.7 hours on a 1,000 Wh station.
Other common sizes
- How long a power station runs a space heater — 34 minutes on 1,000 Wh
- What size power bank for a Starlink Mini — About 1,000 Wh for a full day; 300 Wh lasts about 7 hours
- How long a power station runs an electric blanket — 4.3 hours on 500 Wh, 8.5 on 1,000 Wh
Sources
- Victron Energy — Energy Unlimited (book) (opens in a new tab) — Lead-acid charge efficiency 80–95% (85% suggested as a starting value); battery energy efficiency about 75% for full cycles, about 89% in partial state of charge; inverter efficiencies above 90%.
- Champion Power Equipment — Generator Wattage Chart (opens in a new tab) — Typical running and starting watts for household, RV and job-site appliances (a manufacturer’s planning chart — your nameplate wins).
- Virginia Cooperative Extension, BSE-301: Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use (2020) (opens in a new tab) — Wattage × hours ÷ 1,000 = kWh per day; watts = amps × volts when only amps are listed; a refrigerator runs at full wattage about a third of the time; typical nameplate wattages.
- Starlink — Mini specification sheet (opens in a new tab) — Power consumption: average 25–40 W; input rating 12–48 V, 60 W.
- Starlink — Standard kit specification sheet (opens in a new tab) — Power consumption: average 75–100 W.