A CPAP is one of the most common reasons people buy a power station. The trick: the machine itself sips power — it's the heated humidifier that drains batteries.
With the heated humidifier and heated tube off, most CPAPs draw about 30–60W and use roughly 320 watt-hours per 8-hour night. Assuming ~85% usable capacity:
| Power station | Usable energy | Nights (humidifier off) | Nights (humidifier on) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 Wh | ~255 Wh | ~0.8 night | under 1 night |
| 500 Wh | ~425 Wh | ~1.3 nights | ~0.5 night |
| 1000 Wh | ~850 Wh | ~2.5–3 nights | ~1 night |
| 2000 Wh | ~1700 Wh | ~5 nights | ~2 nights |
One night (emergency/outage): 300–500Wh. A weekend of camping: 1000Wh. A week off-grid: 2000Wh, ideally with a solar panel to recharge each day. Any modern unit's output easily covers a CPAP's low wattage — capacity is what matters here.
See 1000Wh options →Running other things too (phone, lights, a fan)? The full power station size calculator adds it all up for you.
With the humidifier off (~320Wh/night): 500Wh ≈ one night, 1000Wh ≈ 2–3 nights, 2000Wh ≈ a long weekend.
About 2–3 nights with the humidifier off; closer to one night with it on.
Use DC if your CPAP supports it — you skip the inverter and gain ~15% runtime. Otherwise AC is fine.