Start from what has to stay on

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  Home backup

  The best portable power stations for home backup

  A fridge, the internet, a few lamps and everyone's phones through a day without the grid, indoors, with no engine to run. Sized on the harder end of every range.

  Buy the EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max if you want one box you can carry and add to later.

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  Camping and road trips

  The best portable power stations for camping

  Two nights of phones, a laptop and a few lights is a small job with a wide range, and the range is what catches people out. All three picks cover the easy end of it on one charge; the hard end takes a panel at the site or a full charge before you leave.

  Buy the Anker SOLIX C1000 unless you want something lighter to carry or more headroom for a longer stay.

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  CPAP

  Best portable power station for a CPAP (2026)

  A CPAP is a small, steady load. The heated humidifier decides how long a battery lasts, so we size on it being on and show how much longer each pick lasts with it off.

  Buy the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 for one night, and the Anker SOLIX F3800 if the outage could run to three.

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  Portable generators

  The best portable generators for home backup

  Generators judged on the one number that decides the job: the watts on tap for the second a fridge and a chest freezer both restart at once. Not battery capacity, and not the running total.

  Buy the Westinghouse WGen9500DF.

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  Refrigerator

  Which power station will run your refrigerator?

  A typical fridge needs about 2,000 watt-hours a day. Buy a station that holds that much you can actually use, and check it can start the compressor.

  For a typical fridge, get the PECRON F3000LFP: it runs a full day on one charge, the lowest price that does.

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  Sump pump

  The best portable power stations for a sump pump

  A sump pump is a motor that starts hard and then runs in bursts: the starting surge decides which station can start it at all, and the weather decides how much energy it drinks. Sized on the harder end of every range.

  Buy the EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max.

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  Furnace

  Can a power station run a gas furnace? Yes, with the right hookup

  A gas furnace needs power only for its blower and controls. The blower motor type decides how long a battery lasts.

  Yes.

• 
  Well pump

  The best backup power for a well pump

  A well pump is the hardest start in an ordinary house, and it is wired in at 240 volts rather than plugged into anything. That is why this plan usually lands on a generator, and why every figure here is sized on the harder end of its range.

  Buy the Westinghouse WGen9500DF: it clears the pump's worst-case starting surge with margin, puts out 240 volts, and is the only pick here with a retail listing whose model number matches the maker’s figures.

Or size your own list of appliances and see every unit judged against it.