Appliance Surge and Running Watts: A Reference Table
Figures last verified
Most household appliances draw more power to start than to run, and anything with a compressor or motor can spike to several times its running figure for a second or less. This table gives typical running and surge ranges for common loads. Every figure here is a range rather than a number, because the actual draw depends on the specific unit, and the nameplate on your appliance always beats a chart.
How to use this table
Two columns matter for two different decisions.
Running watts determines whether your generator or inverter can sustain the load, and combined across everything you plan to run at once it gives you continuous demand. Surge watts determines whether the load can start at all. Inverters and generators publish both figures, usually as continuous and peak, and the peak rating must exceed the largest single surge on your list plus whatever else is already running.
Watts are not watt-hours. Nothing in this table tells you how long a battery will last, only what it takes to run the appliance at a given moment. For runtime you need daily consumption, which comes off the EnergyGuide label, and the distinction is explained in watts versus watt-hours.
Refrigeration
| Appliance | Running watts | Surge watts |
|---|---|---|
| Full-size refrigerator (modern, Energy Star) | 100 to 250 | 600 to 1,200 |
| Full-size refrigerator (pre-2000) | 300 to 800 | 1,200 to 2,400 |
| Chest freezer | 100 to 400 | 600 to 1,500 |
| Upright freezer | 150 to 400 | 800 to 1,600 |
| Mini fridge | 50 to 100 | 300 to 600 |
| RV or 12V compressor fridge | 40 to 60 | 100 to 200 |
Refrigerators duty cycle, meaning the compressor runs perhaps a third of each hour and idles the rest. A unit listed at 200 running watts averages closer to 60 to 70 watts across a full hour. That averaging is why runtime estimates based on the running figure are pessimistic by a factor of two or three, and it is worked through in how long a power station runs a refrigerator or freezer.
Water and sanitation
| Appliance | Running watts | Surge watts |
|---|---|---|
| Submersible well pump, 1/2 HP | 800 to 1,050 | 2,000 to 3,000 |
| Submersible well pump, 1 HP | 1,500 to 2,000 | 4,000 to 6,000 |
| Shallow well jet pump, 1/2 HP | 750 to 1,000 | 1,500 to 2,500 |
| Sump pump, 1/3 HP | 600 to 800 | 1,300 to 2,200 |
| Sump pump, 1/2 HP | 800 to 1,050 | 1,800 to 3,000 |
| Septic or effluent pump | 700 to 1,200 | 1,800 to 3,500 |
Well pumps are the load that most often exceeds a portable power station's inverter, and they are also the load people most want during an outage. Sizing around one is its own problem, covered in running a well pump during an outage. Sump pump backup has an entirely different set of answers, including options that do not use electricity at all, in the sump pump backup comparison.
Heating and cooling
| Appliance | Running watts | Surge watts |
|---|---|---|
| Gas furnace blower, 1/3 HP | 300 to 700 | 700 to 1,800 |
| Gas furnace blower, 1/2 HP | 600 to 900 | 1,400 to 2,300 |
| Boiler circulator pump | 75 to 250 | 200 to 600 |
| Pellet stove | 300 to 500 | 800 to 1,200 |
| Window air conditioner, 8,000 BTU | 600 to 900 | 1,700 to 2,700 |
| Window air conditioner, 12,000 BTU | 1,000 to 1,400 | 2,500 to 4,000 |
| Central air, 3 ton | 3,000 to 4,000 | 8,000 to 15,000 |
| Electric space heater | 750 to 1,500 | 750 to 1,500 |
| Box fan | 50 to 100 | 100 to 200 |
Resistive loads such as space heaters, toasters, and electric kettles have no meaningful surge because there is no motor to start. They draw their rated wattage the instant they switch on and hold it. That makes them easy on an inverter's peak rating and brutal on a battery, since a 1,500 watt heater empties a 1,000 watt-hour station in well under an hour. Alternatives that do not depend on the grid are in heating a house when the power is out.
Central air conditioning is on this table to establish that it is out of reach, not to suggest it can be planned around.
Kitchen
| Appliance | Running watts | Surge watts |
|---|---|---|
| Microwave, 1,000W output | 1,200 to 1,700 | 1,200 to 1,700 |
| Coffee maker, drip | 800 to 1,400 | 800 to 1,400 |
| Electric kettle | 1,200 to 1,500 | 1,200 to 1,500 |
| Toaster | 800 to 1,500 | 800 to 1,500 |
| Slow cooker | 150 to 300 | 150 to 300 |
| Induction hob, single burner | 1,300 to 1,800 | 1,300 to 1,800 |
| Electric range, one element | 1,500 to 3,000 | 1,500 to 3,000 |
| Dishwasher, no heated dry | 1,200 to 1,500 | 1,500 to 2,200 |
Microwave labeling is a persistent trap. The wattage printed on the front is cooking output, not electrical input, and input runs roughly 1.5 to 1.7 times higher. A 1,000 watt microwave is a 1,500 watt load.
Lighting, electronics, medical
| Appliance | Running watts | Surge watts |
|---|---|---|
| LED bulb | 6 to 12 | negligible |
| CFL bulb | 13 to 20 | negligible |
| Incandescent bulb | 40 to 100 | negligible |
| Laptop | 45 to 100 | negligible |
| Phone charger | 5 to 20 | negligible |
| Wi-Fi router and modem | 10 to 30 | negligible |
| Television, 55 inch LED | 60 to 150 | negligible |
| Desktop computer | 200 to 600 | 300 to 800 |
| CPAP without humidifier | 30 to 60 | negligible |
| CPAP with heated humidifier | 70 to 120 | negligible |
| Oxygen concentrator | 300 to 600 | 600 to 1,200 |
| Nebulizer | 50 to 200 | negligible |
Medical equipment deserves its own planning rather than a line in a table. Manufacturer figures for a specific model are authoritative, and running a concentrator or CPAP through an outage is a case where measuring rather than estimating is worth the effort.
Tools and outdoor
| Appliance | Running watts | Surge watts |
|---|---|---|
| Circular saw, 7-1/4 inch | 1,200 to 1,500 | 2,300 to 4,000 |
| Table saw, 10 inch | 1,800 to 2,000 | 3,500 to 6,000 |
| Air compressor, 1 HP | 1,000 to 1,600 | 2,500 to 4,500 |
| Corded drill | 600 to 900 | 900 to 1,800 |
| Chainsaw, electric | 1,200 to 1,800 | 2,400 to 3,600 |
| Battery charger for cordless tools | 50 to 200 | negligible |
| Garage door opener, 1/2 HP | 550 to 900 | 1,400 to 2,500 |
Why every figure here is a range
Four things move these numbers, and knowing which one applies to you is worth more than a more precise chart.
Age and efficiency dominate the refrigeration category. A refrigerator built in 2024 and one built in 1996 differ by a factor of three or more on running watts, and the older unit surges harder because its compressor is less sophisticated.
Motor type matters next. Conventional induction motors surge hard. Inverter-driven and variable-speed compressors, now common in higher-end refrigerators, heat pumps, and air conditioners, ramp up gradually and can have almost no surge at all. If your appliance is described as inverter, variable speed, or soft start, the surge column above is pessimistic for you, sometimes dramatically.
Soft start devices change the picture deliberately. A hard start kit or soft starter fitted to an air conditioner or a well pump cuts the inrush substantially, and they are the standard remedy for a load that a generator or inverter cannot otherwise start.
Load state is the last one. A compressor starting against high head pressure, a well pump starting against a full column of water, or a saw starting with the blade already in the cut all draw more than the same tool starting unloaded.
Finding your own numbers
The nameplate is the first place to look, usually inside a refrigerator door, on the back of an appliance, or on the motor housing. Full load amps multiplied by voltage gives running volt-amps, which is close enough to watts for planning. Locked rotor amps multiplied by voltage gives the worst-case surge, and it is the figure worth writing down when it appears.
A plug-in energy meter with a peak-hold function will capture the actual surge on a plug-in appliance. Cheap meters sample too slowly to catch a spike lasting a fraction of a second, so peak capture is the feature to check for before buying.
For hardwired equipment, a clamp meter with inrush capture on the branch circuit does the same job.
Manufacturer specification sheets are more reliable than any aggregated chart, this one included. Search the model number and the word specifications rather than trusting a general figure for the category.
Adding it up
Sum the running watts of everything you intend to run simultaneously. Then take the single largest surge figure on that list and add it to the running total, because in practice only one motor starts at a time, and sizing for every motor starting at once produces an absurd number.
A generator or inverter needs a continuous rating above the running sum and a peak rating above the running sum plus that largest surge. How that arithmetic translates into a purchase is worked through in generator sizing, and the comparison between generator, power station, and home battery is in which backup actually fits your house.