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Will it run? · UK figures, 230 V

Will a power station run a TV?

Short answer: Yes

A 55-inch LED TV is rated about 55 W in standard mode on its EU energy label, so a 512 Wh station gives roughly 6 hours and a 1,024 Wh one about 12. HDR and OLED sets draw more.

average load to cover
55W
start-up peak
90W
hours to cover
4h

How much power a TV draws

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 TV 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
55-inch LED, SDR (55 W)3.4 h6 h12 h1 day
55-inch LED, HDR (90 W)2.2 h3.9 h7.8 h16 h
55-inch OLED, HDR (166 W)1.2 h2.2 h4.5 h8.9 h
One cell, worked through

Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2: 1,024 Wh × 0.9 × 0.85 = 783 Wh usable. 55-inch LED, HDR (90 W): 90 W + 10 W = 100 W. 783 ÷ 100 = 7.8 h.

There may be nothing to watch

The government's Prepare advice expects that your TV or internet might not work in a power cut, and points you to a battery or wind-up radio for updates instead. A Freeview aerial picture needs the transmitter and any aerial amplifier powered; streaming needs the broadband.

Prepare also says to unplug your TV and PC during a cut, as they can be damaged by a surge when the power comes back. If you do run the TV from a station, unplug it from the wall first.

Cheaper ways to get the news

A wind-up or battery radio uses a tiny fraction of a TV's energy and works when the internet doesn't. It is on the Prepare kit list and in our UK emergency kit.

Before you rely on it

  • Energy-label figures are for the label's test picture; a bright picture or vivid mode can draw more.
  • A soundbar, set-top box or games console adds its own watts.
  • Smaller sets draw less: the label on your TV gives its on-mode power.

Which station we'd pick

Smallest on our UK list for this job

Jackery Explorer 500 v2

512 Wh and 500 W continuous: about 6 h at 55 W. Four hours of an LED TV, the daily viewing Which? assumes for its running costs.

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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 many watts does a TV use in the UK?

A 55-inch LED TV's energy label can show about 55 W in standard mode and 90 W in HDR; a 55-inch OLED, about 91 W and 166 W. Your TV's label gives its own figures.

Will a power station run a TV and a router?

Yes. A 55 W TV plus a 10 W router is about 65 W, so a 1,024 Wh station gives roughly 10 hours by our sums.

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 9 sources