verifiedbackuppowerdata
Lighting

Running a a few led lights on backup power

The short answer

A a few led lights uses about 15–80 watts while running . Over 8 hours it uses roughly 30–480 watt-hours.

Buy for the higher number in each range. 55 of the 58 products we track can run it. For example, the Zendure SuperBase V6400 would run it for 68.4–364.8 hours.

Sized in a full plan

This load is part of a plan we ran against every unit we track, with picks: The best portable power stations for home backup; The best portable power stations for camping; The best portable generators for home backup; The home-backup class: DELTA Pro 3, SOLIX F3800, Explorer 5000 Plus and the rest; The best portable power stations for a sump pump; The best portable power stations for a gas furnace; The best backup power for a well pump; Anker SOLIX F3800 vs F3800 Plus: the real differences; The best portable power stations for camping with a fridge.

The numbers behind that

Depends on how many fixtures you run and for how long. Few households light every room through an outage.

Running wattswatts
Best case15 Plan for this80

What it draws while it is actually on.

Duty cyclepercent of the time
Best case25 Plan for this75

How much of the hour it is actually drawing power. This is what turns running watts into energy.

Energy over 8 hourswatt-hours
Best case30 Plan for this480

Multiply the battery capacity you are considering by roughly 0.85 to compare like with like.

Usually plugs in

Most units plug into a normal socket. If yours is wired into the wall instead, treat it as the case below.

Check this yourself

Count the bulbs and read the wattage on each. Only LED bulbs land in this range; incandescent bulbs are roughly ten times higher.

What can run it

Sized for 8 hours of use during a 24-hour outage, using the higher end of the range.

ProductContinuousSurgeRuntimeVerdict
Zendure SuperBase V64003,800W5,000W68.4–364.8hWill work
Jackery Explorer 5000 Plus Portable Power Station7,200W14,400W53.6–285.6hWill work
Zendure SuperBase V46003,800W5,000W49.0–261.1hWill work
EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 Portable Power Station4,000W8,000W43.5–232.1hWill work
Goal Zero Yeti PRO 40003,600W7,200W42.4–226.3hWill work
Honda EU2200i Super Quiet Inverter Generator1,800W2,200Wfuel-dependentWill work
Honda EU3000iS Inverter Generator2,800W3,000Wfuel-dependentWill work
FIRMAN WH03242 Dual-Fuel Inverter3,200W4,000Wfuel-dependentWill work

Plan this with your other loads →