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Will it run? · UK figures, 230 V

Will a power station run a chest freezer?

Short answer: Yes

For longer than a fridge-freezer: an average chest freezer uses about 20 W over the day. Better news still, a full one you don't open stays frozen for up to 48 hours without any power.

average load to cover
20W
start-up peak
250W
hours to cover
24h

How much power a chest freezer draws

  • Average over 24 hours

    20 W

    Range 15–24 W

    Worked out from a published figure

    Which? estimates an average chest freezer uses 178 kWh a year, an under-counter freezer 132 kWh and a tall one 212 kWh. Spread over 8,760 hours that is about 20 W (15 W and 24 W for the other two): our arithmetic. Which?

  • While the compressor runs

    250 W

    Estimate: no published figure found

    Not published by Which? or in the sources we read. We assume a fridge-freezer-like 250 W for sizing; the rating plate inside the lid or on the back gives yours.

Hours on four power stations

Worked with BLUETTI's published formula: capacity × 0.9 × 0.85 ÷ (load + 10 W the station uses itself). Capacity and continuous output are from each maker's UK page, read on 11 October 2026. "Too much" means the station's continuous output is below what the appliance needs at once.

Estimated hours of a chest freezer on four power stations
LoadEcoFlow RIVER 3 Plus
286 Wh · 600 W		Jackery Explorer 500 v2
512 Wh · 500 W		Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2
1,024 Wh · 2,000 W		Jackery Explorer 2000 v2
2,042 Wh · 2,200 W
Under-counter freezer (15 W average)8.8 h16 h1 day 7 h2 days 14 h
Average chest freezer (20 W)7.3 h13 h1 day 2 h2 days 4 h
Tall freezer (24 W)6.4 h12 h23 h1 day 22 h
One cell, worked through

Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2: 1,024 Wh × 0.9 × 0.85 = 783 Wh usable. Average chest freezer (20 W): 20 W + 10 W = 30 W. 783 ÷ 30 = 1 day 2 h.

The freezer's own 48 hours come first

The Food Standards Agency says food in a full freezer should stay frozen for up to 48 hours, or 24 if it is half full, as long as you keep it closed. So for most cuts the plan is simply: don't open it.

If the cut looks like running past a day, a power station lets you top the cold back up: plug the freezer in for a couple of hours, then unplug it again. Each hour the compressor runs costs at most about 250 Wh at our assumed 250 W, so a 1,000 Wh class station gives several top-ups.

A garage freezer in winter

If it is cold outside (below 8 °C), the FSA also allows food to be stored outside in a clean, sealed box out of the sun and away from animals. That is free cooling you can use before you spend battery on it.

Before you rely on it

  • The 20 W is a yearly average and assumes the lid stays shut; opening it often, or a warm garage in summer, raises it.
  • The compressor's startup draw is unknown for most models: check the rating plate and keep the freezer off a station that is already running a high load.
  • The freezer may restart with a higher draw after a long rest while it pulls back down to temperature.

Which station we'd pick

Smallest on our UK list for this job

Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2

1,024 Wh and 2,000 W continuous: about 1 day 2 h at 20 W. 24 hours of running, on top of the FSA's 24–48 hours a closed freezer holds by itself, covers a long multi-day cut if you run it in shifts.

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Want to add other appliances? The power-cut calculator does the sums for your whole home, and the full list of 14 stations has every UK figure.

Questions

How long will a power station run a chest freezer?

At an average of about 20 W (Which?'s 178 kWh a year), a 1,024 Wh station gives roughly a day by our sums and a 2,000 Wh station about two days. Run in shifts it stretches much further.

How long does a chest freezer stay frozen in a power cut?

Up to 48 hours if it is full and 24 hours if half full, according to the Food Standards Agency, provided you keep it closed. These are estimates and vary by model.

Other appliances

Guides (5)

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from one of these pages, read on the date shown. If a maker changes its page, its page wins.

See all 7 sources