When the power goes out, most people worry about the fridge first. But if you work from home, run a home security system over Wi-Fi, or just don’t want to lose contact with the outside world during a storm, keeping your modem and router alive can matter just as much — and it turns out to be one of the easiest, cheapest backup jobs a power station can handle.
Networking equipment draws a tiny fraction of the power a fridge or space heater needs, which means you don’t need a massive, expensive unit just to stay connected. Here’s how to size it correctly, plus our picks depending on how much else you want to power alongside your network gear.
Important Caveat First: A Power Station Can’t Fix an ISP Outage
Before buying anything, it’s worth being clear about what this actually solves. A power station keeps your modem and router running. It has no effect on your internet service provider’s equipment — the street cabinet, the local node, the fiber hub — which needs its own power to keep your connection alive. During a widespread grid outage, many ISPs’ local infrastructure runs on its own battery or generator backup for a while, but not indefinitely, and not everywhere.
In practice, this means a power station is most useful for:
- Short-to-medium outages where the ISP’s own backup is still holding.
- Localized outages (a tripped breaker, a downed line on your street) where your neighborhood’s broader infrastructure is unaffected.
- Keeping a mobile hotspot or cellular router running, which depends on the cell network rather than a wired ISP connection and is often more resilient during a local power cut.
If your goal is guaranteed internet through a multi-day, area-wide blackout, pairing your power station with a cellular backup option is a more realistic plan than counting on your home internet connection alone.
How Much Power Does a Modem and Router Actually Use?
This is the good news: networking equipment is a remarkably light load compared to almost anything else in your house.
| Device | Typical Power Draw |
|---|---|
| Cable or fiber modem/ONT | 5–20W |
| Wi-Fi router | 8–25W |
| Mesh Wi-Fi node (each) | 5–15W |
| Small network switch | 5–30W (depends on connected devices) |
A typical modem-plus-router setup draws somewhere around 15–40 watts total — for context, that’s less than a single incandescent light bulb. Even a larger setup with a mesh system, a couple of extra nodes, and a switch rarely crosses 80–100W combined.
The exact number varies by hardware, so the most reliable way to know is to check the wattage printed on each device’s power adapter, or measure your actual setup with an inexpensive plug-in watt meter — adapter labels show maximum draw, not typical real-world consumption, so a meter reading is usually a more accurate (and often lower) number to plan around.
How to Calculate Your Runtime
Once you know your setup’s wattage, the math is simple:
Battery capacity (Wh) × 0.85 (accounting for inverter and conversion losses) ÷ your device wattage = estimated hours of runtime
A few worked examples:
| Setup | Combined Wattage | Power Station Capacity | Estimated Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modem + router only | ~20W | 300Wh | ~12.5 hours |
| Modem + router only | ~20W | 1,000Wh | ~42 hours |
| Modem + router + one mesh node | ~35W | 300Wh | ~7 hours |
| Modem + router + laptop charging | ~70W | 1,000Wh | ~12 hours |
Because the load is so small, even a compact, budget-friendly power station can keep your network running for a full day or more — the real question is usually whether you want the unit to only cover networking gear, or also carry your laptop, phone chargers, and a lamp through the same outage.
Our Picks
Best for Networking Only (Budget Pick)
For a setup that’s purely modem and router, you genuinely don’t need a large unit. A compact power station in the 250–500Wh range with at least one AC outlet and a couple of USB ports will comfortably run your network gear for well over a day, cycle in some phone charging, and still leave you plenty of headroom. Look for a unit with a fast AC switchover time if uninterrupted connectivity through the exact moment of a power blip matters to you (for video calls or a home security system, for instance) — some models can switch to battery power in as little as 10 milliseconds, fast enough that connected equipment doesn’t even reboot.
Best for Remote Workers (Network + Laptop + Monitor)
If losing power means losing your workday, size up. A power station in the 1,000–2,000Wh range with 1,000–1,500W of continuous AC output gives you enough headroom to run your modem, router, laptop, an external monitor, and phone chargers simultaneously — enough to get through a full remote workday on battery, not just keep the Wi-Fi light on. This is also the range where a fast UPS-style switchover feature becomes genuinely valuable: it protects against dropped video calls or corrupted files during the split second the grid actually cuts out, not just during the hours after.
Best for Whole Small-Office Setups (Network + Multiple Devices)
If you’re backing up a home office with a router, modem, several mesh nodes, a switch, a desktop computer, and monitors, look toward the 2,000Wh+ tier with 1,500–2,400W of continuous output. This size also gives you room to add a lamp or small fan without worrying about running short mid-outage, and most units in this class recharge fast enough via AC or solar to be topped back up during longer, multi-day outages.
What to Look For Beyond Capacity
- Pure sine wave output. Networking equipment and computers are sensitive electronics; a pure sine wave inverter (standard on essentially all reputable power stations now) protects them the way a modified sine wave unit can’t guarantee.
- Fast UPS/switchover mode. If your priority is uninterrupted connectivity (not just «back online within a minute»), check the unit’s switchover time. Some models offer near-instant switching that keeps sensitive equipment like routers and NAS devices from rebooting when the grid drops.
- Enough AC outlets, not just USB. Most modems and routers use a standard wall-plug power brick, so make sure the unit has enough AC outlets for your full networking stack, not just USB-A/USB-C ports.
- Passive or quiet cooling. If the unit is going to sit next to your router in a living space for hours or days, a model with quiet or fan-less operation under light loads is worth prioritizing — networking gear is a light enough load that many units won’t need active cooling at all at this wattage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my internet keep working if the power goes out? Only if your ISP’s local infrastructure also stays powered. Your power station keeps your own modem and router running; it has no effect on the equipment upstream that actually delivers the connection.
Do I need a big power station just for a router and modem? No. Networking equipment is one of the lightest loads you can put on a power station — a compact, inexpensive unit will comfortably run a modem and router for well over a day.
What’s the difference between a UPS and a portable power station for this? A traditional UPS is typically cheaper and sized specifically for short bridging power (getting you through brief blips or long enough to shut down safely), while a portable power station offers far more capacity and can run your network gear for many hours to days, plus double as backup for other devices. For outages longer than a few minutes, a power station is the more practical choice.
Can I run my router off a power bank instead? Only if your router accepts DC input compatible with a USB power bank’s output, which isn’t the case for most standard routers that use AC wall adapters. A power station with an AC outlet is the more universal solution.
The Bottom Line
Keeping a modem and router online during an outage is one of the lightest, cheapest jobs you can ask of a portable power station — a compact, affordable unit will handle it for a full day or more. The real decision point isn’t whether a power station can do the job (almost any of them can), but how much else you want it to carry alongside your network gear: a laptop and phone chargers call for a mid-size unit, while a full home office points you toward something larger with more continuous output and faster recharge options.
Always check the actual wattage of your specific modem, router, and any additional networking hardware — printed on the power adapter or measured with a watt meter — before choosing a power station size.
