How to Size a Portable Power Station for Camping — Complete Guide
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In This Guide
The short answer: for most Australian car campers, 500–1000Wh covers 1–3 nights without solar. If you’re running a fridge on an extended off-grid trip, you need 1000Wh or more — and ideally a solar panel to go with it.
But “it depends” only gets you so far. The difference between buying the wrong size power station and the right one comes down to one thing: knowing your actual daily power draw. A 500Wh station is a great weekend companion. Plugging a camping fridge into it expecting three days of runtime is going to leave you disappointed — and your food warm.
This guide gives you the simple formula, a complete device draw reference table, and sizing recommendations for every type of Australian camper, from day-trippers to grey nomads.
Related: Not sure which power station to buy once you’ve nailed your size? See our guide to the best portable power stations for camping in Australia.
Key Takeaways
- For car camping without a fridge, 500Wh is enough for a weekend — phones, lights, fan, laptop
- Add a camping fridge and you need 1000Wh minimum, with solar for trips longer than 2 nights
- The sizing formula is simple: add up daily Wh for every device, multiply by days, add 20% buffer
- Watts ≠ watt-hours — confusing these is the most common sizing mistake
- Connect 12V devices via DC ports, not AC inverter — you'll lose 10–15% efficiency through the inverter
- A 200W solar panel can add 600–900Wh on a good Aussie day, stretching any sized station indefinitely
The Simple Formula
You don’t need an app or an online calculator. Here’s the formula used by every off-grid electrician in Australia:
Runtime Formula
Step 1: For each device: Power draw (W) × Hours of use per day = Daily Wh
Step 2: Add up daily Wh for all devices = Total daily draw
Step 3: Total daily draw × Number of days = Trip total Wh
Step 4: Trip total Wh × 1.2 = Recommended capacity (20% buffer)
Example: Phone (20Wh) + Laptop (130Wh) + Lights (40Wh) + Fan (80Wh) = 270Wh/day. Three-day trip = 810Wh. With 20% buffer = 972Wh. So a 1000Wh station is the right call.
The 20% buffer isn’t padding — it accounts for real-world inefficiencies: temperature affecting battery capacity, inverter losses, and the fact that you never want to fully drain a lithium battery every single night.
Common Camping Device Power Draw
This is the table to bookmark. Use it to build your own load calculation before buying.
| Device | Watts | Typical Hours/Day | Daily Wh (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smartphone charging | 10–15W | 2 hrs | 20–30Wh |
| Tablet charging | 15–25W | 2 hrs | 30–50Wh |
| Laptop charging | 45–65W | 2 hrs | 90–130Wh |
| USB fan (small) | 5–15W | 8 hrs (overnight) | 40–120Wh |
| LED camp lights | 5–10W | 5 hrs | 25–50Wh |
| 12V camping fridge (35–55L) | 40–80W peak | 24 hrs (cycles on/off) | 400–600Wh |
| CPAP machine (no humidifier) | 30–60W | 8 hrs | 240–480Wh |
| Camera battery charging | 10–15W | 1 hr | 10–15Wh |
| Drone battery charging | 60–80W | 1 hr | 60–80Wh |
| Electric kettle | 1000–1500W | 6 min (0.1 hr) | 100–150Wh |
| Hair dryer (travel size) | 1200–1800W | 6 min (0.1 hr) | 120–180Wh |
| Portable speaker | 5–20W | 4 hrs | 20–80Wh |
The 12V fridge number needs explanation: the compressor runs at 40–80W, but it only runs 30–60% of the time depending on ambient temperature. Realistic daily consumption for a quality 45L fridge in 30°C heat is 400–600Wh — not the 960–1920Wh you’d calculate from peak draw alone.
The Kettle Trap
That electric kettle draws more instantaneous power than almost anything else you’d bring camping — 1000–1500W. Most portable power stations rated under 600Wh can’t even run one. And even if they can, boiling water twice a day chews through 200–300Wh. A stovetop kettle is the smarter choice.
Sizing by Camping Style
Here’s how it all translates to real camping scenarios. This table is the starting point — adjust up if you run a CPAP, drone, or large fridge.
| Camping Style | Typical Daily Draw | Recommended Capacity | Our Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day trip / beach day | 50–100Wh | 256Wh | EcoFlow River 2 |
| Weekend car camping (no fridge) | 150–300Wh | 500Wh | Jackery Explorer 500 |
| Weekend camping with fridge | 600–1000Wh | 1000Wh | EcoFlow Delta 2 |
| Extended trip (3–7 days) with fridge | 600–1000Wh/day | 1000Wh + solar | EcoFlow Delta 2 + 220W panel |
| Van life / full-time off-grid | 1000–1500Wh/day | 2000Wh+ | Bluetti AC200P |
| Caravan / grey nomad | 800–1200Wh/day | 1000–2000Wh + solar | Bluetti AC200P or Kings 1000 |
A few notes on the recommendations:
Day trip (EcoFlow River 2, 256Wh, ~$499 AUD): Small, light, fits in a backpack. More than enough for charging phones, a speaker, and some LED strip lights at the beach. Not the station for a fridge.
Weekend no-fridge (Jackery Explorer 500, 518Wh, ~$699 AUD): The classic starter station. Handles phones, laptop, lights, and a fan for two nights without breaking a sweat.
Weekend with fridge (EcoFlow Delta 2, 1024Wh, ~$1,299 AUD): The sweet spot for most Australian car campers. Runs a 45L fridge for 1.5–2 days on battery alone, 2–3 days with any solar input. Can be fully recharged in 80 minutes on mains. This is the one we recommend most.
Extended trips (EcoFlow Delta 2 + solar): Same station, add a 220W panel and your fridge basically runs indefinitely in Australian sun. The Delta 2 accepts up to 500W of solar input — a dual-panel setup replenishes it in 2–3 hours.
Full-time / van life (Bluetti AC200P, 2000Wh, ~$2,499 AUD): For when power is a full-time job. The 2000Wh capacity, 2000W AC output, and dual solar input make it the go-to for serious van builds and extended caravan touring.
3 Things People Get Wrong
1. Confusing Watts with Watt-Hours
This is the most common mistake, and it leads to buying the completely wrong product. Watts (W) is a rate — like speed. Watt-hours (Wh) is a total — like distance. When a power station says “1000Wh,” that’s the tank size. When your fridge says “60W average draw,” that’s how fast it drains the tank.
A 1000Wh station running a 60W device will last approximately 1000 ÷ 60 = 16.6 hours. But only if everything is perfectly efficient — which brings us to point two.
2. Ignoring Inverter Efficiency Losses
Every time you plug a device into the AC outlet on your power station, you lose 10–15% of the stored energy as heat through the inverter. Run everything through AC and you’re working with 850–900Wh from your “1000Wh” station.
The fix is simple: use DC outputs wherever possible. Most power stations have USB-A, USB-C, and 12V DC car-socket outputs. Running your fridge from the 12V DC port instead of an AC adapter extension cord saves you that 10–15% loss. Same goes for phone and laptop charging — USB-C PD directly from the station is more efficient than going AC to a wall adapter.
3. Expecting Solar to Fill the Station Overnight
Solar panels only charge during daylight. In Australia, that’s roughly 5–7 hours of useful peak sun per day. Everything else — afternoons, evenings, nights, overcast mornings — the battery is on its own. That means your battery needs to independently cover 17–19 hours of load without any solar input.
If you’re running a fridge that draws 500Wh/day, roughly 350–380Wh of that is drawn outside solar hours. Size your station to handle overnight draws comfortably, and treat solar as the bonus that eliminates your recharging problem — not the primary power source.
Do You Need Solar?
For a weekend trip, probably not. A 1000Wh station off mains on Friday morning will see most weekend campers through to Sunday afternoon without needing a recharge.
For anything 3+ nights, or if your campsite doesn’t have 240V power, solar goes from optional to essential. A 200W panel in Australian conditions will generate 600–900Wh on a clear day — enough to completely offset a fridge plus a day’s device charging.
See our complete guide: How to Charge a Portable Power Station with Solar Panels — covers panel selection, connection, and which stations have the best solar input specs.
The 12V DC Tip That Saves You Real Runtime
If your camping fridge has a 12V DC cable (the plug that looks like a car cigarette lighter or Anderson plug), always use it with the DC output on your power station — not the AC inverter. You’ll bypass the inverter entirely and save 10–15% of capacity. On a 1000Wh station with a fridge drawing 500Wh/day, that’s an extra 50–75Wh per day — up to an hour and a half of additional fridge runtime, for free.
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Frequently Asked Questions
+ What is the difference between watts and watt-hours on a power station?
Watts (W) measure instantaneous power — how much electricity a device is drawing at any given moment. Watt-hours (Wh) measure stored energy — how much power a battery holds in total. A power station rated at 1000Wh can theoretically deliver 100W for 10 hours, or 500W for 2 hours. When sizing a power station, you care about Wh (capacity), not just W (output).
+ Can I run a camping fridge off a portable power station?
Absolutely. Most 35-55L 12V compressor fridges draw 400-600Wh per day in realistic conditions, which a 1000Wh power station handles comfortably for 1-2 days. The key is to connect via the 12V DC port rather than the AC inverter — you'll avoid the 10-15% inverter efficiency loss and get meaningfully more runtime.
+ How long will a 1000Wh power station last camping?
It depends entirely on what you're running. For a basic setup — phone charging, LED lights, and a USB fan overnight — a 1000Wh station will last 4-7 days easily. Add a camping fridge drawing 500Wh/day and you're looking at 1.5-2 days before recharging. With a 200W solar panel topping it up during the day, you can run indefinitely.
+ Is 500Wh enough for camping?
For a weekend trip without a fridge — phone charging, a laptop, camp lights, and a small fan — yes, 500Wh is plenty and will last 2-3 days. Once you add a fridge (400-600Wh/day), 500Wh becomes marginal for even a single day. If a fridge is in your plans, step up to at least 1000Wh.
+ Do portable power stations work with solar panels?
Yes, and pairing a power station with solar is the best setup for extended off-grid camping. Most quality power stations accept solar input directly via an MPPT port. A 200W panel can add 600-900Wh on a good Aussie day, which offsets or exceeds most camping loads. Check your power station's max solar input rating before buying panels — some budget units accept only 100W or less.
+ What size power station do I need for a CPAP machine?
A CPAP machine draws 30-60W depending on the model and pressure setting. Running it for 8 hours overnight uses 240-480Wh. A 500Wh power station will cover one night; a 1000Wh station covers 2-3 nights without recharging. If you're using a heated humidifier, add another 50-100Wh per night. Always test your specific machine at home first and check if it has a DC travel adapter — it dramatically reduces consumption.