SCIAfter a spinal cord injury, a power outage is not an inconvenience. If you depend on a ventilator, CPAP or BiPAP, an oxygen concentrator, a powered pressure-relief mattress, or the wheelchair itself, losing power is a safety problem — the CDC says exactly that about people who rely on home medical devices. This is the buying companion to our emergency preparedness plan: how to size a battery station to your devices, the specs that matter, and specific units worth the money. Battery stations are the right tool here — silent, fume-free, safe to run indoors next to your bed.
Size it: watts vs watt-hours
Two numbers decide everything, and people mix them up constantly:
- Watts (W) = how much a device pulls at once. The station's inverter rating (e.g. 1,000W) has to be higher than the device's running watts, or it won't run at all. Things with motors or heaters (oxygen concentrators, humidifiers, chargers) draw the most.
- Watt-hours (Wh) = how much energy the battery holds, which is what sets runtime. A 1,000Wh battery is roughly a 100W device for 10 hours — minus losses.
The honest formula, with real-world losses baked in:
Runtime (hours) ≈ battery Wh × 0.85 ÷ device watts
Worked example: a CPAP drawing 60W with the humidifier off runs about 12 hours on an 850Wh station (850 × 0.85 ÷ 60). Turn the heated humidifier and tube on and that same machine can pull 90–100W, cutting you to roughly 7–8 hours — one night, with nothing to spare. Always size for the way you actually use the device, then add margin.
What your devices actually draw
Typical running power for the equipment SCI households depend on. Check the label or manual on your unit — these are ranges, and settings change them a lot.
| Device | Typical running watts | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Travel CPAP | 5–20 W | Sips power; a small station lasts several nights. |
| CPAP / BiPAP, humidifier off | 20–40 W | The efficient way to run in an outage. |
| CPAP / BiPAP, heated humidifier + tube | 70–100 W (peaks higher) | The humidifier and heated tube are the energy hogs. |
| Home ventilator | ~30–90 W | Usually has internal + detachable batteries — those are your instant backup. Check the manual. |
| Portable oxygen concentrator (POC) | 40–120 W | Far more outage-friendly than a home unit. |
| Home / stationary oxygen concentrator (5L) | 250–600 W | The big drain. Needs a large station + a recharge plan, or switch to a POC for outages (ask your provider). |
| Suction machine | 40–100 W | Intermittent; many have their own battery. |
| Cough assist | ~100–200 W (peak, brief) | Used in short bursts, so energy used is small. |
| Powered wheelchair charger | 100–400 W while charging | A full chair battery is large; partial top-ups are realistic, full charges less so. |
| Alternating-pressure mattress pump | 10–40 W | Low draw, runs continuously. |
| Feeding pump / phone / lamp | 5–15 W each | Easy adds even on a small station. |
Quick capacity targets:
- CPAP only, humidifier off, one night: 300–500Wh.
- CPAP with humidifier, one night with margin: a 1,000Wh-class unit.
- Multi-night, or CPAP + phone + chair top-ups: 1,000–2,000Wh, ideally with solar or car charging to extend.
- Stationary oxygen concentrator, or a vent across a long outage: 2,000Wh+ and a recharge plan (solar, car, or an outdoor generator). At 300–600W continuous, even a big battery empties in hours.
The specs that actually matter
- Pure sine wave — non-negotiable. Medical motors and electronics expect the clean power of the grid. A cheap modified sine wave inverter can make a CPAP or concentrator buzz, run hot, malfunction, or refuse to start. Every unit below is pure sine wave.
- LiFePO4 battery chemistry. The newer lithium-iron-phosphate batteries last far longer (commonly 3,000–4,000 cycles, years of nightly use), run cooler, and are safer indoors than older lithium-NMC. Worth it for something that lives by your bed.
- Switchover speed (UPS / EPS). Many stations can sit between the wall and your device and take over in about 10–30 milliseconds when power drops — seamless for a CPAP. For a critical ventilator, do not depend on this gap: let the vent's own battery cover the instant, and use the station to recharge and extend.
- DC output can stretch runtime. Running a CPAP or POC from the station's 12V DC port (with the correct cable) skips the inverter and can add 20–30% runtime. Confirm the cable and voltage with your device maker first.
- How it recharges. Wall is fastest; keep a 12V car adapter so your vehicle becomes a charger; add a solar panel if you want to ride out multi-day outages.
- Indoor-safe and silent. Battery stations make no fumes — unlike gas generators, which produce deadly carbon monoxide and must run outdoors only, never in a home or garage.
The comparison
A spread from "one CPAP night" to "oxygen-dependent, multi-day." All are pure sine wave. Prices are rough mid-2026 street ballparks and swing a lot on sale — check the live price.
| Unit | Capacity | AC output | Best for | Ballpark price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackery Explorer 300 Plus | ~290 Wh | 300 W | CPAP-only / travel | ~$200–300 |
| Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 | 1,070 Wh | 1,500 W | One humidified CPAP night + top-ups | ~$500–800 |
| EcoFlow Delta 2 | 1,024 Wh (expandable) | 1,800 W | Expandable all-rounder, fast UPS | ~$500–900 |
| Goal Zero Yeti 1500 | 1,505 Wh | 2,000 W | Home medical backup, CPAP + oxygen | ~$1,300–1,800 |
| Goal Zero Yeti PRO 4000 | 3,993 Wh (expandable) | 3,000 W | Oxygen-dependent / multi-day / whole-home | ~$3,000–4,000 |
The picks
Jackery Explorer 1000 v2
For most people backing up a CPAP or BiPAP, this is the sweet spot. The 1,070Wh LiFePO4 battery runs a humidified CPAP through a full night with margin, tops up a phone and a powered chair, and recharges fast from the wall, your car, or solar. It's light enough to move room to room, quiet enough to sleep next to, and the LiFePO4 cells are rated for thousands of cycles, so it won't wear out in a couple of years. The 1,500W inverter handles a suction machine or cough assist without complaint.
Skip it if: you run a stationary oxygen concentrator (you need far more capacity — size up), or you only ever travel with a small CPAP (the 300 Plus is lighter and cheaper).
Goal Zero Yeti 1500
Goal Zero has long been the name CPAP and oxygen users reach for, and the 6th-generation Yeti 1500 is built for exactly this: 1,505Wh of LiFePO4, a strong 2,000W inverter, water resistance, and much faster recharging than older Yetis. In real-world testing it ran a typical CPAP overnight and still had more than 60% left in the morning, and it has the headroom to drive a portable oxygen concentrator alongside it. This is the one to buy if you want a single home unit that covers a serious outage, not just one device for one night.
Skip it if: your budget is tight and you only need a CPAP backstop (the Jackery 1000 v2 or EcoFlow Delta 2 cost less), or you're oxygen-dependent on a stationary concentrator and need to run for days (go to the PRO 4000 tier plus solar).
Jackery Explorer 300 Plus
About 290Wh in a package light enough to fly with: enough to run a CPAP with the humidifier off for a night (and a travel CPAP for several). It's the affordable way to stop a single blackout from costing you a night of safe sleep, and it doubles as a road-trip and camping battery. Pure sine wave, USB-C fast charging, small enough to live in a closet until you need it.
Skip it if: you need the humidifier every night (size up to ~1,000Wh), or you depend on a ventilator or oxygen — this is a one-device, one-night stopgap, not a life-support plan.
EcoFlow Delta 2
A 1,024Wh all-rounder that you can grow: add an extra battery and it climbs past 2,000Wh, so you can start with one night of CPAP and expand toward oxygen or multi-night coverage later. Fast UPS-style switchover (around 30 ms) makes it seamless for a CPAP, the 1,800W inverter is generous, and EcoFlow's wall recharge is among the quickest out there. A great pick if you like the idea of buying once and adding capacity as your needs change.
Skip it if: you want the simplest possible single box (the Jackery 1000 v2 is a touch lighter and simpler), or you need true zero-gap power for a critical vent — no consumer station does that job alone.
Goal Zero Yeti PRO 4000
When the device is a stationary oxygen concentrator pulling 300–600W around the clock, or you simply cannot be without power, you need a different class of machine. The Yeti PRO 4000 holds nearly 4,000Wh, drives a 3,000W inverter, and expands with add-on Tank batteries toward roughly 8,000Wh. Pair it with solar and it becomes a genuine multi-day home backup. Be honest with yourself about the math, though: at high continuous draw even this empties, so plan to recharge (solar by day, an outdoor generator if needed), and for very long rural outages a properly installed standby generator may be the better economic answer.
Skip it if: your needs are a CPAP and some chargers — this is expensive overkill; buy one of the 1,000–1,500Wh units instead.
Other solid brands in these tiers include Anker SOLIX and Bluetti — all pure sine wave. The picks above anchor the lineup; the sizing rules matter more than the badge.
Whatever you buy: set it up before you need it
- Test it for real. Run your actual device off the station for a full night now, so you learn its true runtime before a blackout teaches you the hard way.
- Keep it charged. Store it above 50% and top it up after every use. LiFePO4 batteries are happy living near full.
- Keep the extras with it: the 12V car adapter, the right DC cable for your device, and a solar panel if you bought one. A charger you can't find at 2 a.m. isn't a backup.
- In an outage, cut the load: turn off the heated humidifier and heated tube, drop screen brightness, charge the chair to "enough," not "full." Small choices double your hours.
- Register and tell people. Sign up for your utility's medical-needs program (priority restoration and outage warnings) and make sure EMS knows your situation. Full checklist in emergency preparedness.
FAQ
Can a portable power station run a ventilator?
It can recharge a ventilator and extend its runtime, but it is not an instant, zero-gap failover for life support. Your ventilator's own internal and detachable batteries are the first line when wall power cuts out; a power station refills them and keeps you running through a longer outage. Never rely solely on a station's switchover for a life-sustaining device. Build the plan with your DME supplier or respiratory therapist, register with your utility's medical-needs program, and tell your local EMS a vent-dependent person lives at the address.
How many watt-hours do I need for my CPAP?
Without the heated humidifier and tube, most CPAP and BiPAP machines draw 20–40W and need roughly 300–500Wh for one night. With the humidifier and heated tube on, the same machine can pull 70–100W and need closer to 700–1,000Wh per night. The single biggest thing you can do to stretch runtime in an outage is turn the humidifier and heated tube off.
Does pure sine wave matter for medical devices?
Yes. CPAP, ventilator, and oxygen-concentrator motors and electronics are built for the clean power of the grid. A cheap modified sine wave inverter can make them buzz, run hot, malfunction, or fail to start, and can shorten their life. Every unit recommended here outputs pure sine wave. Avoid bargain modified sine wave inverters for any medical device.
Battery power station or gas generator?
A battery power station is silent, fume-free, and safe to run indoors next to your bed, which makes it the right tool for overnight medical devices. A gas generator stores far more energy for multi-day outages but produces deadly carbon monoxide and must run outdoors only, at least 20 feet from windows and never in a garage. Many people keep a battery station indoors for their devices and a generator outside to recharge it.
Will insurance or Medicare pay for a backup battery?
Generally no for a general-purpose portable power station. But many ventilators and portable oxygen concentrators come with their own medical batteries that may be provided or covered through your DME supplier — ask what your specific device qualifies for, and document medical necessity. The power station is usually an out-of-pocket purchase that complements those device batteries.
Sources & Further Reading
Published guidance and manufacturer specifications verified June 2026:
- Preparing for a Power Outage (home medical devices) — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Disasters and People with Disabilities — Ready.gov (FEMA)
- Yeti power station specifications — Goal Zero (capacity, inverter, CPAP/oxygen guidance)
- Explorer power station specifications — Jackery
- Delta & River specifications and UPS switchover — EcoFlow
SCI.help guides are information, not medical advice. Device power needs and battery backup depend on your equipment and settings — confirm your plan with your DME supplier or respiratory therapist, and read each device's own manual.