By PowerMatchLab Editorial · Last updated September 11, 2026
Short answer: a laptop, monitor, router and modem together draw relatively little at any given moment, but the router and modem typically need to stay on continuously, not just for a few hours — that always-on daily energy adds up faster than the individual wattages suggest.
This guide covers keeping remote-work essentials running during an outage, not a full home office buildout or dedicated UPS design for networking equipment — for mission-critical uptime, a proper UPS remains the standard tool.
Key takeaways
- A laptop draws roughly 60 W while in use; an external monitor roughly 30 W; a Wi-Fi router and modem together roughly 18 W — but check your own equipment's labels, since these vary by model.
- The router/modem is usually the deciding factor for a multi-day outage, not the laptop: it commonly needs to run 24 hours a day to keep connectivity up, while a laptop is only drawing power while you're actually using it.
- None of this equipment has a meaningful startup surge — unlike a fridge or pump, sizing for a home office is almost entirely about daily watt-hours, not surge.
- Worked example below using PowerMatchLab's standard 85% usable-energy and 20% reserve assumptions.
What's actually drawing power
A typical remote-work setup during an outage centers on four things: a laptop (commonly around 60 W while in use), an external monitor if you use one (commonly around 30 W), and a Wi-Fi router plus modem (commonly around 18 W combined) that most people want to keep running continuously for connectivity, not just during work hours.
Check your own equipment's rating labels or power-supply "brick" for real watts — a gaming laptop or a larger monitor can draw meaningfully more than these reference figures, and a mesh Wi-Fi system with multiple nodes draws more than a single router/modem.
Why the router/modem is the deciding factor
A laptop and monitor only draw power while you're actively working — commonly a handful of hours a day. A router and modem, by contrast, are usually left on around the clock to keep internet connectivity available, which means their modest wattage accumulates over a full 24 hours rather than a few working hours.
Worked example: router + modem at 18 W running continuously for 24 hours uses 18 × 24 = 432 Wh in a single day — before the laptop or monitor add anything on top. Over a multi-day outage, that continuous draw is what most often determines total capacity needed, not the laptop.
Putting it together: a full day's worked example
Router/modem: 18 W × 24 h = 432 Wh. Laptop: 60 W × 4 h of active use = 240 Wh. External monitor: 30 W × 4 h alongside the laptop = 120 Wh. Total: 792 Wh for that day.
Applying PowerMatchLab's standard assumptions: 792 ÷ 0.85 × 1.2 ≈ 1,118 Wh minimum recommended capacity for one day of remote work plus connectivity — well within a compact-to-mid-size station's range. Add phone charging or other small loads on top if relevant, and multiply by the number of days for a multi-day outage.
Surge is not a real concern here
Unlike a refrigerator, sump pump or other motor-driven appliance, laptops, monitors, routers and modems are electronic loads without a meaningful startup spike. Sizing for a home office setup is almost entirely a matter of adding up daily watt-hours correctly — the router's always-on draw is the detail worth getting right, not surge headroom.
Put a number on it
Related products
Illustrative image — not an exact product photograph.
- Capacity
- 1,152 Wh
- Output
- 1,800 W
- Weight
- 35.3 lb (16 kg)
Best for: camping, RV use, refrigerator backup, home emergency backup
Price, availability and current rating are shown on Amazon — PowerMatchLab does not display them because we have not independently verified them. As an Amazon Associate we may earn from qualifying purchases.
Illustrative image — not an exact product photograph.
- Capacity
- 2,010 Wh
- Output
- 1,500 W
- Weight
- 35.7 lb (16.2 kg)
Best for: refrigerator backup, extended home essentials, camping, low-load long runtime
Price, availability and current rating are shown on Amazon — PowerMatchLab does not display them because we have not independently verified them. As an Amazon Associate we may earn from qualifying purchases.
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FAQ
How long can a power station keep my internet running during an outage?
Divide the station's usable capacity (roughly 85% of rated Wh) by your router and modem's combined watts. At a reference 18 W combined, a ~1,150Wh-class station could cover roughly 54 hours (a little over two days) on connectivity alone if nothing else draws from it — check your own equipment's real wattage for an exact figure.
Do I need a UPS instead of a power station?
For instantaneous, zero-interruption switchover on mission-critical equipment, a dedicated UPS is the standard tool. A portable power station is better suited to sustained runtime across a longer outage rather than sub-second transfer time — some larger stations do offer fast UPS-style switchover; check the specific unit's switchover time if that matters for your setup.
Will my laptop charger work with any power station's AC output?
All PowerMatchLab-listed stations output pure sine wave AC, which is compatible with standard laptop power supplies. Confirm your own charger's input rating if it's an unusual or very high-wattage model.
Sources
- Manufacturer-published specifications, attributed by brand in products.json
Last updated September 11, 2026. This guide is educational and general; it does not assert product-specific performance beyond what products.json verifies. As an Amazon Associate, PowerMatchLab earns from qualifying purchases made through the Amazon links on this page — see the disclosure.