Section
Appliance backup
Battery backup for one appliance at a time: sump pumps, refrigerators, CPAP machines and well pumps, each with the same runtime table.
5 articles
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Battery backup for a refrigerator: how long a power station keeps food cold, from the EnergyGuide number
Hours a 1, 2 or 4 kWh power station keeps a refrigerator cold, sized from the EnergyGuide label, and five units with UPS switchover to do it unattended.
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Battery backup for a space heater: do not do this, and here is what to do instead
A 1,500 W heater empties a 2 kWh power station in about an hour. The arithmetic from the heater's nameplate, and the loads that keep a person warm instead.
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Generator for a well pump: battery or gas, sized from the motor's locked-rotor amps
Franklin publishes 5 A running and 32.2 A locked rotor for a 1/2 HP well pump motor. What that means for a generator, and the two batteries that clear it.
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Portable power station for a CPAP: how many nights, from ResMed's own power figures
Runtime for a CPAP with and without the humidifier, computed from ResMed's published draw, and five buyable units ranked for a night, a weekend and a week.
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Battery backup for a sump pump: what actually works, sized from the pump's own numbers
Sized from a real pump's nameplate, not the box: which power stations run a 1/3 HP sump pump through a night of rain, and for how long.