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Will it run? · UK figures, 230 V

Will a power station run a gas combi boiler?

Short answer: Yes, with care

Electrically, yes: a combi boiler's fan, pump and controls draw roughly 150–180 W while it fires, well within a mid-size station. In practice most boilers are wired into a fused spur, not a plug, so connecting one is a job for a qualified electrician first.

average load to cover
59W
start-up peak
177W
hours to cover
10h

How much power a gas combi boiler draws

  • While firing (Ideal Logic Combi ES 24/30/35)

    177 W

    Range 146–177 W

    Published figure

    The Ideal Logic Combi ES installation manual lists power consumption of 146 W, 152 W and 177 W for the 24, 30 and 35 kW models, on a 230 V supply with a 3 A fuse. Other makes and newer models differ; your boiler's manual has its figure. Ideal

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 gas combi boiler 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
Firing non-stop, smallest model (146 W)1.4 h2.5 h5 h10 h
Firing non-stop, largest model (177 W)1.2 h2.1 h4.2 h8.4 h
Firing a third of the time (about 60 W average, our assumption)3.2 h5.7 h11 h23 h
One cell, worked through

Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2: 1,024 Wh × 0.9 × 0.85 = 783 Wh usable. Firing non-stop, largest model (177 W): 177 W + 10 W = 187 W. 783 ÷ 187 = 4.2 h.

Why the heating stops in a power cut

The government's Prepare advice is plain: gas boilers, gas ovens and heat pumps won't work without power. The gas is still there, but the boiler's fan, ignition, pump and controls are electric, so it stops.

The wiring problem

A combi boiler is normally connected to the house wiring through a fused spur or isolator (the Ideal manual specifies a 3 A fuse), not a 3-pin plug. You can't plug that into a power station. A qualified electrician can tell you whether your installation can be changed so the boiler can be switched to a plug-in supply safely. Don't improvise this, and never back-feed the house wiring from a socket.

Once that is sorted, the energy side is easy: about 150–180 W while it fires is less than a fridge-freezer's compressor.

Before you rely on it

  • Figures are for one Ideal combi range from its manual; other boilers differ. The rating label on the boiler or its manual gives yours.
  • How long the boiler fires in an hour depends on your house, the weather and the thermostat: the 'third of the time' row is an illustration, not a measurement.
  • If the boiler shows a fault when the power returns, follow its manual or call a Gas Safe registered engineer; don't open the casing yourself.

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 11 h at 59 W. 10 hours of heating in a cold-weather cut, with the boiler firing about a third of the time (an assumption: it depends on the house, the weather and the thermostat).

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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

Does a gas boiler work in a power cut?

No. The UK government's Prepare advice says gas boilers won't work without power: the fan, ignition, pump and controls are electric, so the boiler shuts down.

How many watts does a combi boiler use?

One common range, the Ideal Logic Combi ES, lists 146–177 W while running, on a 3 A fused supply. Check your boiler's manual for its figure.

Can I plug my boiler into a portable power station?

Only if it has a plug. Most combi boilers are hard-wired to a fused spur, so changing that is a job for a qualified electrician. Never feed power into your house wiring through a socket.

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