Tool 04 // Calculator

Power Outage Load Calculator

Most people buy a battery first and find out what it cannot run afterwards. Start from the load instead: tick what has to keep working, choose how long you are planning for, and size the storage to match. The reasoning behind the numbers is in the full blackout prep guide.

Step 1 // What must stay running?

Step 2 // How long is the outage?

One day off the grid

Total daily load

3,468Wh per day

4 loads selected, running for 24 hours. Compressor-driven loads are counted at a 33% duty cycle rather than their nameplate wattage for the whole window.

Load across 24 hours

3,468 Wh

Recommended usable capacity

4,162 Wh

In kilowatt-hours

4.2 kWh

The sizing math

  • refrigerator 150 W × 33% + phone chargers 20 W × 100% + led lights 60 W × 100% + wi-fi router 15 W × 100% = 3,468 Wh/day
  • 3,468 Wh × 1 day = 3,468 Wh for the outage window
  • 3,468 Wh × 1.2 headroom = 4,162 Wh (4.2 kWh) of usable battery capacity

The 20% headroom covers inverter losses, cold batteries and the fact that you rarely run storage flat. Panels refill the battery through the day, so the 20% headroom above is what carries you through cloud and short winter days.

Surge warning

Your list includes a compressor or pump with a 800 W start-up surge. Stations are sold on continuous watts and a short peak rating — check the peak figure, and bring loads online one at a time so two motors never start together.

Why these sizes

  • LiFePO4 Solar Generator (2000W+) — Your sizing lands at about 4.2 kWh with an 800 W start-up surge. A 2,000 W-class LiFePO4 station is the smallest unit that clears the 800 W start-up peak and still holds the load for the whole window.
  • Portable Power Station + Folding Solar Panel — At 3,468 Wh/day this is the light, portable half of the setup: phones, lights, the router and a CPAP stay alive and it refills from the panel, while the station sized to your full load carries the heavy draws.

Gear & Equipment // Field picks

Power that matches this load

Sized to the numbers above rather than to a category page. Links are affiliate links — they cost you nothing extra and they keep the site running.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

LiFePO4 Solar Generator (2000W+)

Amazon pick · Power

LiFePO4 Solar Generator (2000W+)

Battery chemistry rated for 3,000+ cycles — silent, indoor-safe power for outages that outlast your fuel. Pairs with folding solar.

Street price: $1,000–$1,600

Check price on Amazon
Portable Power Station + Folding Solar Panel

Amazon pick · Power

Portable Power Station + Folding Solar Panel

A 300–500Wh station runs a fridge cycle, comms, lighting and medical devices, and recharges from a panel when the grid does not come back.

Street price: $300–$700

Check price on Amazon

Email gate // printable version

Get the printable power plan

Enter your email and we'll unlock the one-page plan: your load table, the sizing math and the recharge order for the day the power goes.

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Newsletter // tool

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