How many watts does a sump pump use, and how long will a battery run it?
Sump pumps draw about 700–1,500 W while running and up to 4,500 W for a moment as the motor starts. It cycles on and off, so a typical one uses about 3,300 watt-hours a day, about 136 W on average over the day, because it runs only a few minutes at a time. A 1 kWh station runs it about 6.3 hours.
A 2 kWh station runs it about 13 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 3.1 h | 0.8 h | 12 h |
| 1,000 Wh | about 6.3 h | 1.6 h | 24 h |
| 2,000 Wh | about 13 h | 3.2 h | 49 h |
| 3,000 Wh | about 19 h | 4.9 h | 73 h |
| 5,000 Wh | about 31 h | 8.1 h | 121 h |
Hours = 85% of the nameplate battery divided by average watts. Typical uses about 136 W; hard-working 1,500 W on 35% of the time; efficient 700 W on 5% of the time. The station must also start it: see which units can, below.
How much battery a typical one needs
| Outage | Battery needed, typical |
|---|---|
| 12 hours | about 1,900 Wh |
| 24 hours | about 3,800 Wh |
| 3 days | about 11,500 Wh |
Nameplate watt-hours, so the 85% usable share is already counted. Past a day, most plans add solar or a generator rather than a bigger battery.
The range behind that
A sump pump uses about 700–1,500 watts while running , and needs up to 4,500 watts for a split second when it starts. Over 24 hours it uses roughly 840–12,600 watt-hours.
Buy for the higher number in each range. 59 of the 73 products we track can run it. For example, the Zendure SuperBase V6400 would run it for 10–156 hours of use, from a hard-working unit to an efficient one.
This one is not plug-and-play. It is wired into your house, so you need a licensed electrician.
Sized in a full plan
This load is part of a plan we ran against every unit we track, with picks: The best portable power stations for a sump pump.
The numbers behind that
Duty cycle here is driven entirely by how much water is arriving. In a dry spell it is near zero; during the storm that caused the outage it can run far more than the high end of this band.
What it draws while it is actually on.
The momentary surge when a motor or compressor kicks in. Undersized systems fail here, not on running watts.
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.
Wired into the building
This is connected to your house wiring, not an outlet. Powering it from a portable source needs a transfer switch or an inlet installed by a licensed electrician. Never run a cord from a generator into an outlet to feed a circuit: backfeeding can kill line workers and start fires.
Safety
Sizing a sump pump for backup power is a flood-risk decision, not a comfort decision. The starting surge is large relative to the running watts, and that surge is what most undersized systems fail on.
Check this yourself
Read the pump's horsepower and nameplate amps.
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 40h 10–156h |
| OUKITEL P5000 Pro | 3,600W | not listed by the maker | maker gives no peak figure | about 32h 8.3–124h |
| Jackery Explorer 5000 Plus | 7,200W | 14,400W | starts it | about 32h 8.2–122h |
| Zendure SuperBase V4600 | 3,800W | 5,000W | starts it | about 29h 7.5–112h |
| EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 | 4,000W | 8,000W | starts it | about 26h 6.6–99h |
| Champion 201444 5500W Inverter | 4,000W | 5,500W | starts it | fuel-dependent |
| Champion 201255 5500W Open Frame Inverter (CARB) | 4,000W | 5,500W | starts it | fuel-dependent |
| Champion 201254 5500W Dual Fuel Open Frame Inverter (CARB) | 4,000W | 5,500W | starts it | fuel-dependent |
What will not work, and why
10 of 73 products cannot run this.
- Goal Zero Yeti 700 — Continuous output is 600W. This appliance draws at least 700W while running, so this unit cannot run them even in the best case.
- Jackery Explorer 600 v2 — Continuous output is 500W. This appliance draws at least 700W while running, so this unit cannot run them even in the best case.
- OUKITEL P800 — 435Wh usable cannot cover a 24-hour outage for these loads, which need 840–12,600Wh. It would carry the plan for roughly 0.3h before recharging.
- BLUETTI AC50B — 381Wh usable cannot cover a 24-hour outage for these loads, which need 840–12,600Wh. It would carry the plan for roughly 0.3h before recharging.
- Jackery Explorer 300D — Continuous output is 140W. This appliance draws at least 700W while running, so this unit cannot run them even in the best case.
- Anker SOLIX C300 — Continuous output is 300W. This appliance draws at least 700W while running, so this unit cannot run them even in the best case.