Portable Power Station Sizing Calculator

Portable power stations (Jackery, EcoFlow Delta, Bluetti AC200) are sized in watt-hours, not amp-hours.
A Jackery 1000 stores 1,002 Wh of usable energy.
An EcoFlow Delta Pro stores 3,600 Wh.
The job is matching the watt-hour rating to what you actually need to keep running during a power outage.

The math:

required_Wh = sum of (load_watts × hours_per_day) for each device

A typical short-outage essentials kit looks like this:

• LED lights (4 bulbs at 8 W): 32 W × 6 hours = 192 Wh
• Phone chargers (2 at 10 W): 20 W × 6 hours = 120 Wh
• Wi-Fi router and modem: 25 W × 24 hours = 600 Wh
• CPAP machine: 60 W × 8 hours = 480 Wh
• Mini-fridge keeping food cold: 120 W average × 12 hours = 1,440 Wh

Total: about 2,832 Wh per day.
A Jackery 1000 covers about half a day; an EcoFlow Delta Pro covers most of a day; a 5,000 Wh whole-home unit lasts about two days at this draw.

The single biggest watt-hour sink in most setups is a refrigerator.
A modern Energy Star fridge averages 100-150 W when running and runs about 30-50% of the time, depending on outdoor heat.
Older fridges can pull 200 W average and run more often.
If keeping the fridge cold is a priority, you need at least 1,500-2,000 Wh per day just for that one appliance.

Surge ratings matter for fridges and pumps, not for electronics.
Most power stations can handle 2-3× their continuous rating for the brief surge when a compressor or pump motor starts.
Anything with a hard-start motor (deep-well pumps, large air compressors) may exceed that surge — check the model’s surge spec, or use a soft-start kit.

Pairing with solar panels.
A 200 W solar panel in good direct sun produces about 1,000-1,500 Wh per day.
Most portable power stations accept 200-400 W of solar input, so during a multi-day outage you can recharge from solar during daylight and run loads from the battery overnight.
This is the difference between a 24-hour backup (battery alone) and indefinite backup (battery plus solar).

Three practical points.
Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) chemistry lasts 3,000-5,000 charge cycles versus 500-1,000 for older NMC chemistry — the LiFePO4 station that costs 30% more pays back in cycle life within a year of regular use.
Pure sine wave AC output is standard now; modified sine wave is mostly extinct in this category.
And if you only need backup for short outages (under 4 hours), a single Jackery 500 (518 Wh) is enough for the average household and costs $400, much less than a generator with all the maintenance.