Most homes have 5–8 appliances that account for 80% of daily watt-hours: the fridge, electric water heater, dryer, window AC, electric range, microwave, dishwasher, and space heater. The rest barely move the needle. Pull the right number off the chart below, multiply by hours-per-day, divide by 1,000, and you have the kWh. That is the entire game.
Why the watts on the box are not the watts you actually pay for
The number stamped on the back of an appliance is the maximum power it can draw. The U.S. Department of Energy is explicit about this: “the wattage listed is the maximum power drawn by the appliance.” 1 A 1,500-watt microwave hits 1,500 watts only while the magnetron is on. A refrigerator nameplate might say 700 watts but the compressor only runs about a third of the time.
That gap between nameplate and actual is where most sizing calculations go wrong. People price a 5,000 Wh battery to cover a 700-watt fridge for 24 hours and end up over-buying by 60% — or, worse, under-buying because they forgot the surge.
This article gives you both numbers — running watts and watt-hours per typical day — sourced from public references rather than marketing copy. Where the published tables don’t cover a modern device (CPAP machines, induction cooktops, EV chargers), we cite the manufacturer datasheet or the standard derivation formula directly.
A worked example: the fridge that “uses 725 watts”
Take the Virginia Tech Extension figure for a 16 cu ft frost-free refrigerator: 725 watts while the compressor is on. 2 If you naively multiply 725 W × 24 h, you get 17,400 Wh — enough to make a 2 kWh power station look hopeless.
Apply the DOE duty-cycle rule: divide 24 hours by 3 = 8 hours of actual compressor runtime. 725 × 8 = 5,800 Wh per day — much closer to reality, but still high because that 725 W is older-fridge worst case.
A modern ENERGY STAR full-size refrigerator pulls closer to 100–200 W when running and totals about 1,000–1,800 Wh in 24 hours. That’s why a 1.5–2 kWh power station can ride out a one-day blackout for the most important load in the house.
“To estimate the number of hours that a refrigerator actually operates at its maximum wattage, divide the total time the refrigerator is plugged in by three. Refrigerators, although turned ‘on’ all the time, actually cycle on and off as needed to maintain interior temperatures.”
The chart: 50+ appliances by category
Numbers below are running watts unless noted. Where we list a range, the lower end is a modern ENERGY STAR or efficient model; the upper end is a worst-case nameplate. Sources at the bottom of the article.
Refrigeration & freezing
| Appliance | Running W | Surge × | Daily Wh (typical) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator, full-size, ENERGY STAR (~20 cu ft) | 100–200 | 3× | 1,000–1,800 |
| Refrigerator, frost-free, 16 cu ft (older) | 725 | 3× | ~5,800 |
| Mini-fridge / dorm fridge, 4–5 cu ft | 60–100 | 3× | 300–500 |
| Chest freezer, 15 cu ft | 500–750 | 3× | ~1,500 |
| 12V cooler / portable fridge (camping) | 40–65 | 2.5× | 300–500 |
Kitchen — small appliances
| Appliance | Running W | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Microwave oven | 750–1,100 | 5–15 min/day |
| Toaster | 800–1,400 | 3–5 min/use |
| Toaster oven | 1,225–1,500 | 15–20 min/use |
| Coffee maker (drip) | 900–1,200 | 5–10 min brew |
| Espresso machine | 1,300–1,500 | 2–4 min/shot |
| Electric kettle | 1,500 | 3 min/boil |
| Slow cooker | 150–300 | 4–8 h/use |
| Instant Pot / pressure cooker | 700–1,000 | 20–60 min/use |
| Air fryer | 1,500–1,700 | 15–25 min/use |
| Blender | 300–600 | 1–3 min/use |
| Stand mixer | 300–600 | 5–10 min/use |
Kitchen — major appliances
| Appliance | Running W | Daily Wh (typical) |
|---|---|---|
| Dishwasher (full cycle) | 1,200–2,400 | 1,200–2,000 / cycle |
| Electric range (oven + 1 burner) | 2,000–3,500 | ~2,000 / hour cooking |
| Electric range (4 burners + oven, peak) | 5,000–8,000 | peak only |
| Induction cooktop, single burner | 1,500–1,800 | ~1,000 / 30 min meal |
| Garbage disposal | 450–900 | ~10 / day |
Laundry
| Appliance | Running W | Per cycle Wh |
|---|---|---|
| Washer (cold cycle) | 350–500 | 300–500 |
| Washer (hot cycle, electric water heat) | 500 | 2,000–3,500 |
| Dryer, electric | 1,800–5,000 | 2,500–4,000 |
| Dryer, gas (motor + igniter only) | 300–500 | 300–500 |
| Iron | 1,000–1,800 | ~600 / 30 min |
HVAC, fans, heating
| Appliance | Running W | Surge × | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Window AC, 5,000 BTU | ~500 | 3× | EER 10 |
| Window AC, 8,000 BTU | ~800 | 3× | EER 10 |
| Window AC, 10,000 BTU | 1,000–1,200 | 3× | EER 8.5–10 |
| Window AC, 12,000 BTU | 1,200–1,500 | 3× | EER 8–10 |
| Mini-split, 12,000 BTU (efficient) | 800–1,100 | 2× | SEER 18+ |
| Central AC, 3-ton | 3,000–4,000 | 3× | 240 V |
| Space heater (max setting) | 1,500 | 1× | Resistive — no surge |
| Furnace blower fan (gas furnace) | 750 | 2× | — |
| Ceiling fan | 35–175 | 1× | Lower on low speed |
| Window / box fan | 55–250 | 1× | — |
| Dehumidifier (50-pint) | 350–785 | 3× | Compressor cycles |
| Whole-house fan | 240–750 | 2× | Attic mounted |
Lighting
| Appliance | Running W | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| LED bulb (60 W equivalent) | 8–10 | 800 lm |
| LED bulb (100 W equivalent) | 14–18 | 1,600 lm |
| CFL (60 W equivalent) | 13–15 | 800 lm |
| Fluorescent tube, 4 ft T8 | 32 | ~2,800 lm |
| Incandescent (60 W) | 60 | 800 lm |
Office, electronics, entertainment
| Appliance | Running W | Idle W |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop PC (typical office) | 75–150 | ≤30 |
| Gaming PC (under load) | 300–600 | ~80 |
| Laptop | 30–65 | ~5 (lid closed, charging) |
| Monitor, 24” LED | 25–45 | ≤30 |
| TV, LED 32” | 30–50 | ≤2 |
| TV, LED 55” | 70–120 | ≤2 |
| TV, OLED 65” | 130–200 | ≤2 |
| Soundbar | 20–50 | ~2 |
| Gaming console (PS5, Xbox Series X) — playing | 150–200 | ~30 |
| Cable / streaming box | 10–25 | 5–10 |
| Wi-Fi router | 5–10 | 5–10 |
| Cable modem | 5–12 | 5–12 |
| Smartphone charger (USB-C, fast) | 10–25 while charging | ~0.3 idle |
Medical & always-on
| Device | Running W | Per night Wh |
|---|---|---|
| CPAP, no humidifier (ResMed AirSense 11) | 9–56 | ~250 / 8 h |
| CPAP, with heated humidifier + tube | 60–120 | 500–900 / 8 h |
| BiPAP / APAP | 80–120 | 600–950 / 8 h |
| Oxygen concentrator (5L) | 350–600 | 8,400–14,400 / 24 h |
| Sump pump (½ HP) | 800–1,050 | depends on inflow |
| Garage door opener (motor running) | 350–1,000 | ~5 / 4 cycles |
Tools, outdoor, EV
| Appliance | Running W | Surge × |
|---|---|---|
| Drill, corded | 600–1,000 | 2× |
| Circular saw | 1,200–1,500 | 2× |
| Pressure washer (electric) | 1,300–1,500 | 3× |
| Vacuum cleaner | 1,000–1,440 | 1.5× |
| Pool pump, 1 HP | 750–1,500 | 3× |
| Hot tub (heater on) | ~4,350 | 1× |
| Deep well water pump | 250–1,100 | 3–4× |
| EV charger, Level 1 (110 V) | 1,200–1,500 | 1× |
| EV charger, Level 2 (240 V at 32 A) | ~7,680 | 1× |
Why your AC nameplate “lies” (and the formula that fixes it)
Air conditioner specs are usually quoted in BTU/h, not watts — which is unhelpful when you’re sizing a generator or battery. The translation is one line:
Watts = BTU/h ÷ EER
Where EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio) is on every modern AC’s yellow EnergyGuide label. A 10,000 BTU window unit at EER 10 pulls 1,000 watts running. The same 10,000 BTU at EER 8 pulls 1,250 watts — 25% more. SEER is the same idea over a season, used for central AC.
That’s why two “10,000 BTU” units can have very different power draws and why we list both in the chart above. If a manufacturer doesn’t publish an EER, assume EER 8.5 for older window units and EER 10 for ENERGY STAR.
The five biggest watt-hogs in a typical U.S. home
If you cut wall power to a typical home, these five loads represent roughly 80% of the daily kWh:
- Electric water heater — 4,500–5,500 W resistive element, runs 2–4 hours/day = 9,000–22,000 Wh/day. By far the largest single load if you have one. Switching to a heat pump water heater drops this to ~1,500 Wh/day.
- HVAC — central AC at 3,000–4,000 W running 6–10 hours in summer = 18,000–40,000 Wh/day. The reason almost no portable battery system can carry an unmodified AC house through a multi-day outage.
- Electric dryer — 2,790–5,000 W per cycle for ~45 min = 2,000–4,000 Wh per load.
- Refrigerator (full home) — 1,000–2,000 Wh/day, smaller than people think per day but it runs 24/7.
- Electric range / oven — 2,000–3,500 W during use, ~2,000 Wh/day for a household that cooks.
Everything else combined — TVs, computers, lights, chargers, the Wi-Fi, the modem, the routers — typically adds up to 1,500–3,000 Wh/day in a normal household. That’s why the smart play for backup is to cover the small stuff completely and pick one or two of the large stuff, not to try and run everything.
Three sizing scenarios with real math
Scenario 1 — Camping weekend (two nights, 48 h)
A common load: 12V cooler (60 W × 24 h × 2/3 duty cycle = ~1,920 Wh), LED string lights (15 W × 6 h = 90 Wh), phone & laptop charging (50 Wh × 2 = 100 Wh), small fan (35 W × 8 h = 280 Wh), CPAP no humidifier (~250 Wh × 2 = 500 Wh).
Daily total ≈ 1,200 Wh. Two nights ≈ 2,400 Wh (with margin).
A 1,500 Wh power station gets you through one night with margin; a 2,000 Wh covers two if you’re disciplined. Add 200 W of solar and you can stretch to four nights without recharging from a vehicle.
Scenario 2 — 24-hour blackout (essentials only)
Refrigerator (1,200 Wh), Wi-Fi + router (~300 Wh), a couple of phone charges (50 Wh), one LED ceiling light × 4 hours (40 Wh), a 55″ TV × 3 hours (300 Wh), a microwave for two 5-minute heats (200 Wh), one CPAP night (~500 Wh).
Total ≈ 2,500–2,800 Wh. A 2 kWh LFP power station like the Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 or the Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 gets you through 24 hours with the fridge as the dominant load.
Scenario 3 — Off-grid week (no AC, no electric heat, no electric water heater)
Fridge (1,500 Wh × 7 = 10,500 Wh), lights and electronics (~1,500 Wh × 7 = 10,500 Wh), cooking (induction burner + microwave, ~2,000 Wh × 7 = 14,000 Wh), CPAP × 7 nights (~3,500 Wh).
Weekly total ≈ 38,500 Wh = 38.5 kWh. That’s solar territory: a 4–5 kWh battery refilled daily by 600–800 W of solar panels works in summer; winter requires either a generator backup or a much bigger panel array.
Editor’s pick for “I want one battery that covers most of these scenarios”
Jackery Explorer 2000 v2
The 2 kWh LFP class is the sweet spot for “covers a 24-hour blackout including the fridge, plus serves as the camping battery, plus stays under 50 lb.” The Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 wins this slot on cycle life (4,000 cycles), recharge speed (full from wall in ~102 minutes via Emergency mode), and a verified UL1778 UPS rating per Jackery’s product page.
If you need wall recharge in under an hour, the Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 does it in 58 minutes — lighter, expandable, with a working alternator-charging mode. Both are listed in our power stations comparison for full specs.
Use the calculator instead
If you’d rather not do the math by hand, the WattBunker calculator does this exact computation against the products in our catalog:
Sources
CPAP figures: ResMed published power-supply specifications for the AirSense 10 and AirSense 11 — typical operation 9–56 W, peak 73 W on the AirSense 11; humidifier and heated tubing add 30–60 W. AC wattage is derived from the BTU/EER formula, with EER values taken from ENERGY STAR-certified Window Air Conditioner product listings.
Footnotes
-
U.S. Department of Energy — Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use. Retrieved April 2026. energy.gov/energysaver/estimating-appliance-and-home-electronic-energy-use ↩ ↩2
-
Virginia Cooperative Extension (Virginia Tech). ENERGY SERIES: Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use (publication 2901-9014). Wattage table cross-checked against the Department of Energy’s appliance estimator. pubs.ext.vt.edu/2901/2901-9014/2901-9014.html ↩
FAQ
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