A portable power station is an essential piece of equipment to keep important devices like medical equipment, radios, appliances, and smartphones charged and running during emergencies and power outages. Many power stations have both standard AC outlets and USB ports for powering multiple types of devices at once. Portable power stations have an advantage over traditional generators, in that they don't require gasoline, kerosene, or propane to run. This not only saves you money and time spent on engine maintenance, it makes battery backups much, much safer to use indoors.
Power stations also give you a wider range of power output options than traditional generators. If you just want to keep your phone charged and a radio running, there are handheld inverters available. But if you need to keep high-power items like CPAP or oxygen machines and even kitchen appliances running, you can purchase a power station that has an electrical output comparable to that of a traditional generator.
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Portable power stations are also quieter than traditional generators, letting you hear important updates more easily, and feature push-button starts and instant-on abilities; no more struggling with pull-starts and warm-up cycles. If you want a more in-depth explanation of the differences between portable power stations and traditional generators, you can read our special feature[2], which covers everything from cost and energy needs to how weather and even earthquakes affect your emergency power options. You can also check out our list of the best home generators[3] for whole-home emergency power.
The Jackery Solar Generator 1000 is designed to give you safe, reliable power in the event of an emergency. It has a 1000 watt output, meaning you can do