Swish Power Solutions
Power Station Runtime Calculator
Work out what size portable power station you need for camping, 4WD touring, Starlink, fridges, CPAP machines, tool charging and backup power.
Calculator ready.
1. Add your gear
Choose common appliances or add your own. You can edit the watts and hours.
Popular camping & touring loads
For fridges, hours/day means estimated compressor run time, not how long the fridge is plugged in. A fridge can be plugged in 24/7 but only draw power part of the time.
| Item | Watts | Hours/day | Qty |
|---|
2. Trip length & solar
Tell the calculator how long you need power and whether solar will help.
3. Your result
A practical estimate with real-world losses and buffer added.
Not sure what your setup needs? Send us your gear list and we can help point you in the right direction.
4. Runtime comparison
Estimated runtime from common power station sizes.
| Power station size | Estimated runtime |
|---|---|
| 300Wh | Calculating... |
| 500Wh | Calculating... |
| 768Wh | Calculating... |
| 1000Wh | Calculating... |
| 1500Wh | Calculating... |
| 2000Wh | Calculating... |
| 2500Wh | Calculating... |
| 3000Wh | Calculating... |
| 3500Wh | Calculating... |
| 4000Wh | Calculating... |
| 4500Wh | Calculating... |
| 5000Wh | Calculating... |
What the numbers mean
This calculator estimates energy use in watt-hours. It adds a real-world allowance for inverter and charging losses, then adds a buffer so the recommendation is not balanced on a knife edge.
Battery capacity and inverter output are different things. A power station might have enough stored energy for a short appliance run, but it still needs enough inverter output to start and run high-watt gear like coffee machines, microwaves and induction cooktops.
Treat this as a practical estimate. Real results vary with temperature, appliance model, battery age, solar conditions, cable losses and how often gear is actually used.