How Long Will a Power Station Run a Fridge? (UK Guide)
- Fred & Ellis
- 8 hours ago
- 2 min read
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It's the question every home-backup buyer asks: if the power goes out, how long will a power station keep my fridge running? The honest answer is "it depends" — but there's a simple way to work it out, and the numbers are more reassuring than you might think.
🔋 At a glance
Quick answer: a 1000Wh unit runs a typical fridge ~5–10 hours
Fridges cycle on and off, so they use less than their peak rating
Formula: usable Wh ÷ daily fridge Wh = days of runtime
For multi-day cover, add solar or choose an expandable system
❄️ The quick answer (runtime by capacity)
A typical UK fridge-freezer uses roughly 1–2kWh per day because the compressor cycles on and off rather than running constantly. As a rough guide:
500Wh unit: ~3–5 hours of fridge use
1000Wh unit (e.g. EcoFlow DELTA 2): ~5–10 hours, or a full day if the fridge is efficient
2000Wh+ unit: a full day or more, especially paired with solar
How to calculate it yourself
Find your fridge's daily consumption (often on the energy label, in kWh/year ÷ 365, or roughly 1–1.5kWh/day for a modern model). Then: usable capacity ÷ daily consumption = days of runtime. Remember usable capacity is about 85% of the rated Wh after inverter losses. Our homepage power calculator does this for you across all your appliances.
What affects the real number
Ambient temperature: a warm room makes the compressor work harder.
How often the door opens: each opening costs energy.
Fridge vs fridge-freezer: freezers draw more.
Inverter efficiency: expect ~10–15% losses.
The verdict
For most UK homes, a 1000Wh power station comfortably protects the fridge through a typical outage, and a 2000Wh+ or solar-paired system covers longer storms. Size for the worst case and you'll never lose a freezer full of food again. See our recommended units in the home backup power guide.
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