The numbers
| Per day | 0.1–0.3 kWh |
|---|---|
| While running | 2–14 W, steady, day and night |
| Starting surge (plan for) | up to about 14 W |
Tiny but always on. A small power station keeps your internet up for days in an outage.
Tip: Count the modem too: another 4–8 W. A fiber box on the wall draws 14–18 W.
Answer a few taps in a guide and every page like this shows the numbers for your own setup. Start
Running it on solar
At typical use (about 0.2 kWh a day), it takes one 400-watt panel to keep up through a dark winter, plus batteries for the nights.
Sized for a dark winter. Set your location · Size a whole system
How long a battery runs it
On its own, at typical use:
Questions people ask
How long will a power station run a WiFi router?
A 2 kWh power station runs it for about 8.9 days on its own, at typical use. Bigger batteries scale up from there.
How many solar panels does it take to run a WiFi router?
One 400-watt panel keeps up with typical use (0.2 kWh a day) through a dark winter, on its own, plus batteries for the nights.
How big a battery runs a WiFi router for a day?
About 0.2 kWh of battery covers a full day at typical use (0.2 kWh), allowing for losses.
Power it for good
Want it running through outages, or off-grid for good? The guides size everything around what you run.
Typical ranges for planning, from US Department of Energy appliance estimates, nameplate ratings and owner measurements. Your model's label or a plug-in meter gives your exact number. More: How much power do you use?