Solar chargers & portable power stations
Everything you need to pick, size and recharge a portable power station with solar: from keeping a phone alive on a trip to running a fridge through an outage.
Four steps from "what do I need?" to "it's charging"
1. Size it
List your devices, get the watt-hours and output you need plus the solar to refill it.
Open calculator →2. Choose it
Capacity, output, battery chemistry, solar input, ports and warranty: what actually matters.
Read the guide →3. Charge it with sun
Panel size, peak sun hours and input limits explained, with worked examples.
Solar charging →4. Know what it can run
Typical wattages for common devices and how long different capacities last.
See the list →Power station basics in two minutes
A portable power station is a large rechargeable battery with an inverter and a set of outputs (USB, DC and standard AC sockets) in one box. It stores electricity, then hands it out quietly with no fuel and no exhaust. Two numbers describe almost everything about it.
Capacity (watt-hours, Wh) is the size of the tank: how much energy it holds. Output (watts, W) is the size of the pipe: how much power it can deliver at once. A station with plenty of Wh but low watts can run a laptop for days yet fail to start a kettle. A station with high watts but little Wh can start the kettle and run flat in minutes.
Runtime (hours) ≈ capacity (Wh) × 0.85 ÷ device wattsThe 0.85 allows for conversion losses when you use the AC sockets. DC and USB outputs lose less, but planning with 85% is a safe rule of thumb.
Typical running watts
| Device | Typical running power |
|---|---|
| Smartphone charger | 5–20 W |
| LED light | 5–20 W |
| Laptop | 30–100 W |
| CPAP machine | 30–60 W |
| Portable fridge | 40–80 W |
| TV | 50–150 W |
| Household refrigerator | 80–150 W (higher start-up surge) |
| Coffee maker, microwave | 1,000–1,800 W |
These are ranges. Check the label on your own device, or use the calculator and edit the numbers.
Heating appliances are the capacity killers. Space heaters, kettles, hair dryers and electric stoves can draw well over 1,000 W. They are rarely a good fit for a portable power station, however big the battery.
How we will rate products
Product reviews are coming to this hub. When they arrive, every station and solar charger will be judged on the same published criteria, so you can see why something scores the way it does:
- Cost per usable watt-hour. Price divided by capacity, not just the headline number.
- Battery chemistry and rated cycle life, and the warranty that backs it up.
- Real output and surge rating, not only the peak figure on the box.
- Solar input: maximum watts and accepted voltage range.
- Weight, ports and noise for the use case it is built for.
Some pages may later include affiliate links. If they do, that will be stated on the page and it will not change how a product is scored.
Frequently asked questions
What size portable power station do I need?
Multiply each device's running watts by the hours you will use it to get watt-hours, add them up, then divide by about 0.85 to allow for conversion losses on AC output. The calculator does this for you.
Is LiFePO4 better than lithium-ion for a power station?
LiFePO4 (LFP) packs typically offer many more charge cycles and better thermal stability, but are heavier for the same capacity. Standard lithium-ion (NMC) packs are lighter but usually last fewer cycles. See the buying guide for the trade-offs.
Can I charge a power station with solar panels?
Yes. Charging speed is limited by the lower of your panels' real output and the station's maximum solar input, and panel voltage must fall inside the station's accepted range. Details in the solar charging guide.
Can a portable power station run a refrigerator?
Many can, for a limited time. A household refrigerator typically draws roughly 80–150 W while running but needs a higher surge when the compressor starts, so check both the surge rating and the capacity.
Is a power station safer indoors than a gas generator?
A battery power station produces no exhaust fumes, which is the main hazard of running a gas generator indoors. You should still follow the manufacturer's instructions, keep vents clear and avoid heat and moisture.
Thinking bigger than a portable station?
For whole-home solar, use our state calculators and financing tools to see what a rooftop system could do for your bill.
Open the state calculators →