Can a power station run a refrigerator?

Three numbers decide it

A refrigerator does not draw a steady load. Its compressor starts, runs for a while, stops, and starts again later. For a typical modern full size model the figures in our data are:

Running watts

275 W150 W to 400 W across models

Starting watts

1,000 Wfor a moment, each time the compressor starts

Energy per day

1.3 kWh0.91 to 1.92 kWh between efficient and thirsty models

Average draw

54.2 W1.3 kWh × 1,000 ÷ 24 h

Each number answers its own question. Running watts tell you whether the station can carry the fridge once it runs. Starting watts tell you whether it can get the compressor turning. Energy per day tells you how long the battery lasts.

The start is the hard part

Almost any station has the output for 275 W: 53 of the 54 in our data do. The start is where stations drop out. The compressor asks for about 1,000 W, 3.6 times its running figure, and 4 stations have the running watts but a surge rating below that.

A station that cannot cover the start will not run the fridge, however much battery it holds. Where a maker publishes no surge rating, we check the start against the continuous output instead. 6 of the 49 stations that pass have no published surge rating and pass on their continuous output.

If anything else runs from the same station, its watts add to the start. The runtime calculator adds every running load to the largest start in your list, so a fridge next to a kettle needs more surge than a fridge alone.

Energy per day sets the hours

Once the fridge runs, the battery decides. We divide the usable capacity by the average draw, 54.2 W for the typical model, not by the running watts, because the compressor rests part of each hour. Usable capacity is the rated figure times 85%, the share we assume reaches the outlets.

The smallest station in our data that keeps a typical modern fridge going for a full day is the Jackery Explorer 1500 v2 (1,536 Wh), with about 24.1 h. The refrigerator page lists all 54 stations with their running time, and a refrigerator overnight works out the 8 hour case.

Older fridges, freezers and small coolers

Age and type change the daily energy. An older refrigerator from 2001 to 2010 uses about 1.78 kWh a day in our data, 37% more than a typical modern one, with the same compressor start. A chest freezer uses less than either.

For your own unit, look for its energy use in kWh per year on the label or in the manual and divide by 365. ENERGY STAR's Flip Your Fridge calculator estimates the yearly use of an older model from its type, size and age. Enter the result in the calculator as the watts from your label: kWh a year × 1,000 ÷ 8,760 gives the average watts.

How long food stays cold without any power

A closed refrigerator buys you time before you need a station at all. According to Ready.gov, the federal preparedness site, food in a shut refrigerator stays cold for about four hours, a full freezer stays frozen for about 48, and any food that has warmed to 40 degrees F or above belongs in the trash.

Those figures change how you can use a smaller station. Running the fridge for part of each hour, or for a few hours at a time and then letting it coast with the door shut, stretches a battery that could not carry it nonstop. Our runtime figures assume the fridge stays plugged in the whole time, the cautious case.