GoKawiilPortable power stations are a great tool for keeping your most important devices -- including phones, laptops and routers -- charged during an emergency such as a power outage, but what if you need to power your fridge or washing machine? You may be under the impression that you need to spend thousands of dollars on a whole-home backup system such as a Tesla Powerwall. But thankfully, CNET’s lab testing has revealed you don’t need as much wattage to run your home appliances as you might think.
We tested 19 large and extra-large portable power stations to see how long they could keep our test fridge running in the lab. The results showed that while extra-large models can oftentimes keep your fridge running longer, that’s not universally true, and depending on your energy needs, a smaller portable power station can work just as well for many large appliances.
Key takeaways:
The Fossibot 3600 Pro performed the best overall, keeping the test refrigerator running for an impressive 44.65 hours (1.86 days). The Oupes Mega 5 followed closely behind in second place at 43.72 hours (1.82 days).
The Oscal Power Max 2400 had the shortest runtime by far, lasting only 12.58 hours (0.52 days).
The Anker Solix F3800 Plus performed poorly for its size, lasting only 25.68 hours (1.07 days) despite its large 3,840Wh capacity.
The Bluetti AC200L unit is the efficiency king for large appliances, lasting 29.27 hours on a 2,048Wh battery.
The Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 is a standout performer, lasting 27.4 hours on a 2,048Wh battery.
The Solix C2000 Gen 2 was a particularly impressive performer in our fridge test for its size. CNET
Lab awards for power stations:
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