What size power station do I need for camping?
For phones, LED lights and a laptop, a station of about 300 to 700 Wh covers a day or a weekend. Running a fan all night takes you to about 1,095 Wh a day, and cooking with a kettle or electric grill needs a station rated for at least 1,500 to 1,650 W.
Size it in two steps: the rated output (W) must cover the biggest thing you plug in, and the battery (Wh) must cover what you use between recharges: Wh needed = total watt-hours used / 0.85.
How much battery do I need for a day of camping?
Add up watts x hours for everything you plan to run, then divide by 0.85 for the energy lost at the outlet. Here is an example day. The hours are just an example; put in your own.
| Load | Watts | Example use | Watt-hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone charger, 2 phones | 20 W [16] | 2 hours each | 80 Wh |
| LED bulb (60 W equivalent), 2 bulbs | 8.8 W [18] | 4 hours each | 70.4 Wh |
| Laptop | 50 W [20] | 2 hours | 100 Wh |
| Box fan | 85 W [14] | 8 hours overnight | 680 Wh |
That gives three sizes of camping day:
- Phones and lights: 150.4 Wh / 0.85 = about 177 Wh of battery a day.
- Plus a laptop: 250.4 Wh / 0.85 = about 295 Wh a day.
- Plus a fan all night: 930.4 Wh / 0.85 = about 1,095 Wh a day.
For a two-night trip with no recharging, double them: about 354 Wh, 589 Wh and 2,189 Wh. The phone charger figure is the adapter's rated output, a ceiling; a phone draws less as it fills up, so the real number is usually lower. Check your own list in the runtime calculator.
Which station sizes fit which trip?
Match your daily total to the battery and the battery to what you can carry. Weight matters more at a campsite than at home. These are some of the stations in our data from about 290 Wh to 2,000 Wh:
| Station | Battery | Rated AC output | Weight | Max solar input |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUETTI Elite 30 V2 | 288 Wh | 600 W | 9.48 lb [3] | 200 W |
| EcoFlow RIVER 3 Plus | 286 Wh | 600 W | 10.4 lb [4] | 220 W |
| Goal Zero Yeti 300 | 297 Wh | 350 W | 13.7 lb [13] | 200 W |
| Goal Zero Yeti 500 | 499 Wh | 500 W | 16.1 lb [5] | 200 W |
| Goal Zero Yeti 700 | 677 Wh | 600 W | 20.3 lb [1] | 200 W |
| Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 | 1,070 Wh | 1,500 W | 23.8 lb [7] | 400 W |
| EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus | 1,024 Wh | 1,800 W | 27.6 lb [8] | 1,000 W |
| Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus | 1,264 Wh | 2,000 W | 32 lb [9] | 800 W |
| BLUETTI AC180 | 1,152 Wh | 1,800 W | 35.27 lb [10] | 500 W |
| Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 | 2,042 Wh | 2,200 W | 39.5 lb [12] | 400 W |
Against the example day:
- Phones and lights (177 Wh a day): a 290 Wh class station such as the RIVER 3 Plus, Elite 30 V2 or Yeti 300 covers one day. For a weekend (354 Wh), step up to the Yeti 500.
- Plus a laptop (295 Wh a day): just over the RIVER 3 Plus's 286 Wh. The Goal Zero Yeti 300 (297 Wh, 13.7 lb) just covers one day, and the Yeti 500 covers it with room to spare; the Yeti 700 (677 Wh) covers a weekend (589 Wh).
- Plus a fan all night (1,095 Wh a day): the BLUETTI AC180 (1,152 Wh) or Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus (1,264 Wh) covers one day. A weekend without recharging (2,189 Wh) is more than the 2,000 Wh class holds, so you would need to recharge or run the fan for fewer hours.
The fan is the biggest item on the list. Cutting it from 8 hours to 4 saves 340 Wh a day, which can mean a smaller, lighter station.
How long will a camping power station run each item?
Divide the usable energy by the load. A Goal Zero Yeti 700 has 677 Wh, about 575 Wh at the outlet at 0.85. That runs a 50 W laptop about 11.5 hours (677 x 0.85 / 50), an 85 W box fan about 6.7 hours, or an 8.8 W LED bulb about 65 hours. A RIVER 3 Plus (286 Wh) runs the same box fan about 2.8 hours (286 x 0.85 / 85). Neither maker publishes an inverter efficiency, so 0.85 is our assumption (how we got these numbers).
Can a power station run a kettle, coffee maker or grill at a campsite?
Only a station with a high enough rated output, and it costs a lot of battery. The output has to cover the appliance's running watts:
| Cooking load | Running watts | Output needed |
|---|---|---|
| Slow cooker | 200 to 250 W [15][21] | 250 W or more |
| Coffee maker | 900 to 1,500 W [20][15] | Up to 1,500 W |
| Electric kettle | 1,500 W [22][23] | 1,500 W or more |
| Electric grill | 1,560 to 1,650 W [24][15] | 1,650 W or more |
None of the 290 to 700 Wh stations above can run a kettle or grill at full power; their outputs are 350 to 600 W. The Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 (1,500 W) runs a 1,500 W kettle but not a 1,650 W grill. The DELTA 3 Plus, AC180, Explorer 1000 Plus and Explorer 2000 v2 cover both.
Heating loads drain a battery fast. Every 10 minutes of a 1,500 W kettle uses 1,500 x 10 / 60 = 250 Wh at the outlet, about 294 Wh of battery. That is a whole RIVER 3 Plus. A slow cooker is gentler: 250 W for an hour is 250 Wh at the outlet, about 294 Wh of battery for each hour it runs on high.
Can I recharge a power station while camping?
Yes, with solar panels, if the station has a solar input. The table above lists each station's maximum solar input, from 200 W on the Yeti 500 and 700 to 1,000 W on the DELTA 3 Plus. At its full 220 W input, a RIVER 3 Plus would refill in about 1.3 hours (286 / 220), but panels rarely deliver their full rating all day, so real recharge times are longer. Solar lets a smaller station cover a longer trip if you use less in a day than the panels put back.
What else should I check for camping?
Three things beyond Wh and W:
- Outputs. Phones and laptops can charge from USB-C, which skips the DC to AC conversion on the AC outlets. Check the station's USB-C and car outlet count on the stations page.
- Weight. A 1,000 Wh class station in our data weighs 23.8 to 35.27 lb. If you carry it far from the car, the 290 to 700 Wh class (9.48 to 20.3 lb) is much easier.
- Your real loads. The label on your fan or laptop charger, or a plug-in watt meter at home, beats any table. See the sourced watts for each load on the appliances page.
Related questions
Quick answers
What size power station do I need for camping?
Add up the watt-hours you use in a day and divide by 0.85. Charging two phones and running two LED bulbs needs about 177 Wh a day, so a 300 Wh class station covers it. Add a laptop and it is about 295 Wh. Add a box fan for eight hours and it is about 1,095 Wh a day.
Is a 300 Wh power station enough for camping?
For phones and LED lights, yes, for about a day. The EcoFlow RIVER 3 Plus (286 Wh) covers two phones and two LED bulbs in our example day (about 177 Wh) but not the laptop as well (about 295 Wh).
Can a power station run a kettle or electric grill at a campsite?
Only a station rated for at least 1,500 W for a typical kettle, or about 1,650 W for an electric grill. Every 10 minutes of a 1,500 W kettle uses about 294 Wh of battery (1,500 x 10 / 60 / 0.85).
How heavy is a camping power station?
In our data, about 9.5 to 13.7 lb for the 290 Wh class, 16 to 20 lb for 500 to 700 Wh, and 24 to 35 lb for 1,024 to 1,264 Wh stations.
Can I recharge a power station with solar while camping?
Yes, if it has a solar input and you bring panels. Each station has a maximum solar input, from 200 W on the Goal Zero Yeti 500 and 700 to 1,000 W on the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus. Panels rarely deliver their full rating all day, so plan on less.