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Best picks › Power outages
Best power stations for power outages and winter storms
In an outage you don't need to run everything, just the essentials. This page ranks every station by how many days it keeps them going on one charge, and shows what changes in winter when a gas furnace's blower has to run too.
Essentials: Refrigerator (full-size) (8 h/day), Wi-Fi router + modem (24 h/day), LED bulbs (x4) (6 h/day), Phone charging (3 h/day): about 1,965Wh a day. With a gas furnace blower (6 h/day): about 5,565Wh a day, nearly 3× as much, which is why winter outages need a much bigger battery.
A furnace is hardwired: powering it needs a transfer switch or inlet installed by a licensed electrician. Never backfeed a house through an outlet.
Top picks
| Category | Winner | Lasts | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest for a 1-day outage (essentials) | Bluetti Apex 300 | 1.2 days | $1,599 |
| Cheapest for 2 days (essentials) | Jackery Explorer 5000 Plus | 2.2 days | $3,149 |
| Cheapest for a 12-hour night with the furnace blower | Jackery HomePower 3600 Plus | 13 hours | $1,709 |
| Longest with the furnace blower | EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra | 23 hours | $4,199 |
Every station that can run the essentials
| Model | Essentials | With furnace blower | Capacity | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluetti AC70 | 8 hours | 3 hours | 768 Wh | $359 | |
| EcoFlow RIVER 2 Pro | 8 hours | Too much power | 768 Wh | $369 | |
| EcoFlow DELTA 2 | 11 hours | 4 hours | 1,024 Wh | $449 | |
| Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 | 11 hours | 4 hours | 1,070 Wh | $499 | |
| Bluetti AC180 | 12 hours | 4 hours | 1,152 Wh | $499 | |
| Anker SOLIX C1000 | 11 hours | 4 hours | 1,056 Wh | $600 | |
| Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 | 11 hours | 4 hours | 1,024 Wh | $600 | |
| Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus | 13 hours | 5 hours | 1,264 Wh | $619 | |
| EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus | 11 hours | 4 hours | 1,024 Wh | $719 | |
| Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 | 21 hours | 7 hours | 2,042 Wh | $899 | |
| Bluetti AC200L | 21 hours | 8 hours | 2,048 Wh | $899 | |
| Bluetti Elite 200 V2 | 22 hours | 8 hours | 2,074 Wh | $899 | |
| EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max | 21 hours | 8 hours | 2,048 Wh | $1,029 | |
| Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus | 21 hours | 7 hours | 2,042 Wh | $1,499 | |
| Bluetti Apex 300 | 1.2 days | 10 hours | 2,765 Wh | $1,599 | |
| Jackery HomePower 3600 Plus | 1.6 days | 13 hours | 3,584 Wh | $1,709 | |
| Anker SOLIX F3800 | 1.7 days | 14 hours | 3,840 Wh | $2,200 | |
| Anker SOLIX F3800 Plus | 1.7 days | 14 hours | 3,840 Wh | $2,700 | |
| EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 | 1.8 days | 15 hours | 4,096 Wh | $2,799 | |
| Jackery Explorer 5000 Plus | 2.2 days | 18 hours | 5,040 Wh | $3,149 | |
| EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra | 2.7 days | 23 hours | 6,144 Wh | $4,199 |
One full charge, no solar, at 85% inverter efficiency. "Too much power" means the station can't supply everything at once or can't start the largest motor. Sorted by price.
Stretching it further
- Solar panels or add-on batteries can turn one day into several. Size your own mix, including solar, in the home backup planner.
- A closed fridge stays cold for about four hours without power, so running it in shifts saves a lot of battery.
- Heating with electric space heaters drains a battery in hours. See space heaters and furnace blowers for the numbers.