Portable Power Station Runtime Guide for Camping
If you want the short answer, portable power stations run small devices for ages and big heating or cooling loads for nowhere near as long as people hope.
The catch is the marketing number sounds massive until you divide it by a real watt load.
Need the runtime fast?
Use the Power Station Runtime Calculator and plug in the battery size and average load.
Use the Power Station Runtime Calculator and plug in the battery size and average load.
Worked example
A 1024Wh station with roughly 85% usable energy gives you about 870Wh real-world usable. On an 80W load, that is roughly 10.9 hours. On a 500W load, it drops hard.
Bottom line
Power stations are great for lights, laptops, routers and small fridges. They are less magical once you start dreaming about kettles and heaters. Use the calculator first.