How-to guide · Portable Power Stations
How Long Will a Power Station Run a Refrigerator?
Read your fridge's yearly energy figure, divide by 365, and compare it with the station's usable watt-hours. Here is the method with examples.
By Watt Versus Editorial· Updated · 5 steps
This page was drafted with AI assistance from manufacturers' specs and manuals, and is checked by our editor.
A refrigerator does not draw its rated watts all the time: the compressor cycles on and off. So the useful number is energy per day, not watts. In the US, the yellow EnergyGuide label on a fridge gives its estimated yearly energy use in kWh.
Two checks before you start
- Surge. A compressor draws several times its running watts for a moment when it starts. The station's peak or surge rating must cover that start-up, so check it in the spec table. Note that BLUETTI's Power Lifting figure is for heating appliances run at reduced power, not a surge rating.
- Usable energy. Count about 80% of the station's rated capacity as usable, after inverter losses and battery reserve.
Worked example
A fridge labelled 600 kWh a year uses about 600 ÷ 365 = 1.64 kWh, or 1,640 Wh, a day: about 68 Wh an hour on average.
- A 1,024 Wh station gives about 820 Wh usable: 820 ÷ 68 = about 12 hours.
- A 2,048 Wh station gives about 1,640 Wh usable: about 24 hours.
Real runtime varies with room temperature, how often the door opens and how full the fridge is. Treat these figures as estimates.
Step by step
- 1
Find the fridge's yearly energy use
Read the kWh-per-year figure on the EnergyGuide label or in the manual.
- 2
Convert to watt-hours per hour
Divide the yearly kWh by 365 to get kWh per day, multiply by 1,000 for Wh, then divide by 24 for the average watts.
- 3
Work out the station's usable energy
Multiply the station's rated Wh by 0.8.
- 4
Divide to get hours
Usable Wh divided by the fridge's average watts gives estimated hours of runtime.
- 5
Check the surge
Make sure the station's peak output is well above the fridge's running watts so the compressor can start.
Frequently asked questions
- How long will a 1,000 Wh power station run a fridge?
- For a fridge rated around 600 kWh a year, about 12 hours. A more efficient fridge runs longer; check its EnergyGuide label.
- Can a portable power station start a refrigerator compressor?
- Usually, if its peak or surge rating is well above the fridge's running watts. Check the surge figure in the station's spec table.
- How can I make a power station run a fridge longer?
- Keep the door closed, keep the fridge full, or add an expansion battery or solar panels to recharge during the day.