The Field Calculators → Power
Power
Battery runtime
How long the bank actually carries the load — with the inverter losses people forget.
Result
Battery capacity200 Ah
Bank voltage12 V
Usable depth of discharge80 %
Load150 W
Inverter efficiency88 %
Runtime
11.3 hours
0.5 days at that load.
Usable energy in the bank
1,920 Wh
Actual draw including inverter
170.5 W
20.5 W of that is inverter loss.
Load you could run for 24 hrs
70.4 W
What this will not do
- Run DC loads on DC where you can. An inverter idling to power a 5 W router can burn more in overhead than the router uses.
- Rated capacity is measured at a slow discharge rate and at room temperature. Cold batteries deliver less, and lead-acid delivers much less at high current.
- Tier your loads before the outage, not during it. Brain, router and one access point is about 30 W and should never go down. The cellar fan can ride.
The full build and the reasoning are in Chapters 40, 52 of the guide.
