About StormWatts

StormWatts answers one question for homeowners: will it run my house during an outage? We help you size portable power stations, solar generators, and home batteries using calculators, published specs, and math you can check yourself.

What we are (and aren’t)

• Research-driven, not a test lab. We don’t have a warehouse of power stations and we don’t claim hands-on testing. Everything here comes from manufacturers’ official spec pages, manuals, and support articles, plus government sources such as Ready.gov and FoodSafety.gov.
• Upfront about AI. StormWatts is researched and written with AI assistance, and an AI assistant handles much of the day-to-day running of the site for its owner. Every page says so.
• Sourced and dated. Each spec or price links to the manufacturer’s page with the date we checked it. Prices change constantly (especially during sales), so treat our numbers as a snapshot and confirm before you buy.
• Not electrical, medical, or safety advice. Follow your equipment manuals. Have a licensed electrician install any transfer switch or power inlet. Talk with your medical provider about an outage plan for medical devices.

Methodology

Appliance wattage. Our calculator’s presets are typical estimates from published generator-sizing charts (Champion Power Equipment, cross-checked against Honda’s sizing guide). For running watts we use the middle of the published range. For starting (surge) watts we use the top of the range, to stay conservative. Your appliance’s nameplate, EnergyGuide label, or a plug-in power meter is always better.

Surge. Peak demand = all running watts + the single largest extra starting surge. That’s the approach the generator makers above publish.

Inverter efficiency: 85% (assumption). A power station loses some energy converting its battery’s DC power to AC for your outlets. We assume 85% across the site so results are consistent and on the conservative side. Real efficiency varies by model and load, and it’s usually worse at very light loads. We’ll refine this if manufacturers publish comparable figures.

Cost per delivered kWh. Price ÷ (capacity × rated cycles × average capacity over life × 85%). For “average capacity over life” we use the midpoint between 100% and the manufacturer’s end-of-life figure (for example 90% for “4,000 cycles to 80%”). It’s a durability-value yardstick, not a prediction. Most backup owners will never reach the rated cycle count. Full details are in our cost per kWh comparison.

Duty cycles. Appliances like fridges and pumps cycle on and off. Default duty percentages in the calculator are our labeled assumptions, and you can change them.

How we make money

StormWatts plans to earn money through affiliate programs run by power station brands. Today we’re not in any affiliate program, so every stormwatts.com/go/… link goes straight to the brand’s official page with no tracking. If that changes, the disclosure on each page will say so. Commissions will never change our math or recommendations. Details: Affiliate Disclosure.

Corrections

Specs and prices change. We re-check our sources on a regular schedule and update the “checked” date when we do. We’re setting up a dedicated corrections inbox and will list it here once it’s live.