How many watts does a CPAP machine use, and how long will a battery run it?
CPAP machines draw about 30–100 W while running. A CPAP uses about 440 watt-hours over 8 hours of use, about 55 W on average. A 1 kWh station runs it about 16 hours.
A 2 kWh station runs it about 31 hours.
That is the middle of our range for this appliance. Yours may use less or a lot more: the range, the assumptions and every unit we track are below. Hours are hours of use on one full charge, counting about 85% of the battery as usable.
Hours of use by battery size
| Battery (nameplate) | Typical | Hard-working unit | Efficient unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 Wh | about 7.8 h | 4.2 h | 14 h |
| 1,000 Wh | about 16 h | 8.5 h | 28 h |
| 2,000 Wh | about 31 h | 17 h | 57 h |
| 3,000 Wh | about 47 h | 26 h | 85 h |
| 5,000 Wh | about 78 h | 42 h | 142 h |
Hours = 85% of the nameplate battery divided by average watts. Typical uses about 55 W; hard-working 100 W on 100% of the time; efficient 30 W on 100% of the time. The station must also start it: see which units can, below.
The range behind that
A CPAP machine uses about 30–100 watts while running . Over 8 hours it uses roughly 240–800 watt-hours.
Buy for the higher number in each range. 68 of the 73 products we track can run it. For example, the Zendure SuperBase V6400 would run it for 55–182 hours of use, from a hard-working unit to an efficient one.
Sized in a full plan
This load is part of a plan we ran against every unit we track, with picks: Best portable power station for a CPAP (2026).
The numbers behind that
The range covers machines running a heated humidifier and tube (ResMed lists the AirSense 10 at 34 W with both and the AirSense 11 at 56 W typical). With the humidifier off, ResMed's figures fall to about 5-10 W.
What it draws while it is actually on.
How much of the hour it is actually drawing power. This is what turns running watts into energy.
Multiply the battery capacity you are considering by roughly 0.85 to compare like with like.
Plugs into an outlet
This appliance plugs into a normal socket, so a power station or a generator's outlet can run it directly.
Safety
This planner does not certify any system for medical use. If losing therapy overnight is a health risk, talk to your equipment supplier about a manufacturer-approved battery and tell your utility you need medical-priority restoration.
Medical device
This planner sizes equipment. It does not certify any system for medical use, and no result here should be treated as a guarantee of therapy through an outage.
Check this yourself
Read your specific machine's power supply rating. A heated humidifier and heated tubing can multiply consumption several times over, and many users run without them on battery.
What can run it
Hours of use on one full charge: typical, then the range from a hard-working unit to an efficient one. “Starts it” means the peak output covers even a hard-starting one; “may not start a hard-starting one” means it covers the lower end of the starting range only.
| Product | Continuous | Peak | Starts it? | Hours of use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zendure SuperBase V6400 | 3,800W | 5,000W | starts it | about 100h 55–182h |
| Jackery Explorer 5000 Plus | 7,200W | 14,400W | starts it | about 78h 43–143h |
| Zendure SuperBase V4600 | 3,800W | 5,000W | starts it | about 72h 39–131h |
| EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 | 4,000W | 8,000W | starts it | about 64h 35–116h |
| Goal Zero Yeti PRO 4000 | 3,600W | 7,200W | starts it | about 62h 34–113h |
| Honda EU3000iS Inverter Generator | 2,800W | 3,000W | starts it | fuel-dependent |
| FIRMAN WH03242 Dual-Fuel Inverter | 3,200W | 4,000W | starts it | fuel-dependent |
| Champion 201444 5500W Inverter | 4,000W | 5,500W | starts it | fuel-dependent |
What will not work, and why
1 of 73 products cannot run this.
- EcoFlow RIVER 3 — 208Wh usable cannot cover a 24-hour outage for these loads, which need 240–800Wh. It would carry the plan for roughly 2.1h before recharging.