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Capacity is the number that matters. Power banks quote it in mAh, power stations in watt-hours (Wh). To compare them, a 20,000mAh bank holds about 74Wh. The runtime calculator does the sums.
In a hurry? The one I'd buy from each shelf.
- Power banksAnker 20,000mAh power bank (PowerCore 20K)£20–40
- Portable power stationsEcoFlow RIVER 2 Max (512Wh)£300–500
- A UPS for the routerEaton 3S Mini£40–70
- Batteries for everything elsePanasonic eneloop charger with four AAs£25–40
Power banks
A phone battery is roughly 15Wh. After the losses nobody mentions on the box, a 10,000mAh bank gives you about two full charges and a 20,000mAh one about four.
INIU 10,000mAh slim power bank
One or two phones, one or two nights
Thin enough to live in a drawer, charges at a decent lick, and costs less than the takeaway you’ll order when the oven’s off. Buy one per adult and stop there if phones are your only worry.
Anker 20,000mAh power bank (PowerCore 20K)
A household of phones for a weekend
Four phone charges from a brand that has been making these since before your phone had a notch. This is the one the government checklist has in mind when it says “charged power bank”.
UGREEN Nexode 20,000mAh 100W
Phones plus a laptop, or the router
Same capacity as the band below, but it pushes out enough power to run a laptop. With the right cable it will also keep a router going for most of an evening, which I cover in the internet guide.
Anker Laptop Power Bank 25,000mAh 165W
Working from home through it
Built-in cables, which matters more than it sounds at 6pm in the dark. Charges two laptops at once. Above this price you should be looking at a power station.
What more money buys. Under £40 you are buying capacity. Over £40 you are buying output, measured in watts, which decides whether it can run a laptop or only phones.
What to skip. Anything claiming 50,000mAh for £19. Solar panels glued to the back of a power bank, which in a British winter will charge your phone by roughly March.
Portable power stations
A power station is a big battery with three-pin sockets on it. This is where you go if you want to keep a fridge-freezer cold, work a full day, or run a medical device. If someone in the house depends on powered medical equipment, talk to the supplier of that equipment first and get on the Priority Services Register.
EcoFlow RIVER 2 (256Wh)
Router, phones, a lamp and a laptop for a day
The size of a toaster and about as complicated. Runs a router for a full day or a laptop through a working one. Uses the long-lived LFP battery chemistry, so it won’t mind sitting in a cupboard.
EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max (512Wh)
A long evening of normal life
Double the capacity. Television, lamp, router and phones from teatime to bed, with enough left to run a heated throw. This is the band where a power cut starts to feel like a choice.
Anker SOLIX C1000 (1,056Wh)
Keeping the fridge-freezer cold overnight
A full kilowatt-hour and sockets that will start a fridge compressor. Will also boil a low-wattage travel kettle, though a standard 3kW kettle will trip it, so buy the small kettle and enjoy your tea like a man who planned ahead.
EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max (2,048Wh)
The fridge-freezer for a day or more, plus everything else
Two kilowatt-hours. Enough to treat a 24-hour cut as an inconvenience, and it takes extra batteries later if you get a taste for it.
EcoFlow DELTA Pro range
People who mean it
At this money, stop and think. A power station this size costs about what a small fitted home battery does, and the fitted one earns its keep every day by storing cheap-rate electricity. Our sister site Sun on Tap covers that side.
What more money buys. Hours, and the ability to start a fridge. Below about 500Wh you are keeping small things going. Above 1,000Wh you are protecting the contents of a freezer, which for most families is worth more than the box doing the protecting.
What to skip. Petrol generators, unless you live rurally and already own one. They are loud, they need fuel you have to store, and they kill people who run them in garages.
A UPS for the router
A UPS sits between the wall and a device and takes over the instant the mains drops. A power station does the same job more slowly and for longer. A UPS is for things that shouldn’t even flicker.
Eaton 3S Mini
Keeping the wifi up through short cuts
A small box made for routers and fibre boxes. No fan, no beeping, and it switches over without the router noticing. Check its voltage setting matches your router’s plug before you connect it.
APC Back-UPS 650VA (BE650G2-UK)
Router, fibre box and cordless phone base
Proper UK sockets and enough battery to hold the household’s internet together for an hour or so. The sensible middle.
APC Back-UPS Pro 900VA (BR900MI)
A desktop PC and monitor
Its job is to give you ten calm minutes to save your work and shut down properly. It has the kettle-lead style sockets a PC and monitor use anyway.
What to skip. Running a laser printer off one. Just don’t.
Batteries for everything else
Panasonic eneloop AA, pack of four
Torches and radios you actually use
They hold their charge for years in a drawer, which is the one job a standby battery has.
Panasonic eneloop charger with four AAs
Starting from nothing
The charger that treats them properly, with the batteries in the box.
Also keep one sealed brick of ordinary alkalines, such as a 24-pack of Duracell AAs. They last about ten years unopened and need nothing from you.
Solar chargers
BigBlue 28W folding solar charger
Summer, camping, optimism
In June it will charge a phone in an afternoon. In January it will keep a power bank from going backwards. Buy it knowing which month you live in.
If you want solar that does real work in a British winter, that’s a job for a balcony or a roof. Sun on Tap’s plug-in solar guide has the numbers.