A portable power station is an essential piece of equipment to keep devices like medical equipment, radios, appliances, and smartphones charged and running during emergencies. Many power stations have both standard AC outlets and USB ports for powering multiple types of devices at once. Portable power stations have an advantage over traditional generators, in that they don't require gasoline, kerosene, or propane to run. This not only saves you money and time spent on engine maintenance, it makes battery backups much, much safer to use indoors. 

Power stations also give you a wider range of power output options than traditional generators. If you just want to keep your phone charged and a radio running, there are handheld inverters available. But if you need to keep high-power items like CPAP or oxygen machines and even kitchen appliances running, you can purchase a power station that has an electrical output comparable to that of a traditional generator. 

Power Bank

A portable power station is an essential piece of equipment to keep important devices like medical equipment, radios, appliances, and smartphones charged and running during emergencies and power outages. It has both standard AC outlets and USB ports for powering multiple types of devices at once.

How a portable power station work

Portable power stations can be a lifesaver in many situations. Whether you find yourself in a blackout with no backups or need to charge up some electronics while camping, this is an essential item for camping and home. We look at how portable power stations work and how to pick the best one fit for purpose.

A portable power station’s main component is a rechargeable battery. This battery stores charge and release it in DC form or AC form via its outputs. The outputs can include AC, USB, or Cigarette lighter plugs. A power station can be charged with either an AC charger or using solar panels. They are also referred to as solar generators.

To understand how it works we need to look at these components.

Components of a Power Station

A power station is made up of different components. The main component is the battery with all the other components supporting functions either to charge the battery or power devices from the battery.

Battery

As stated before the main component of the power station is the rechargeable battery. Portable power stations were first created for miners who work in deep trenches and were made from Lead-acid batteries. Lead-acid batteries are cheaper but heavier and do not last as long. Modern power stations consist mainly of lithium-ion batteries which are more stable, lighter, and can be recharged quicker and easier.

Inverters

Power in the battery is stored in the form of DC power. In order to use power from to power AC appliances which is most of the appliances in our homes like TVs, laptops or blenders you need to convert the power to AC power.

A power station will need an Inverters to convert DC power from a battery to AC current for household use. Inverters come in many different sizes and shapes, as well as with different features to suit their specific use. So the type and size of inverter in the power station will determine what devices it can power.