You need about 467 Wh — and 28 units fit. The smallest sufficient is the Goal Zero Yeti 500X; we never push more capacity than your load can use. Surge to clear: 1,000 W.
The math
Running watts (everything on at once) = 100 W
Surge watts (worst single startup + the rest running) = 1,000 W
Average draw (cyclic loads counted by their duty cycle) = 35 W
Watt-hours = 35 W × 12 h ÷ 90% usable reserve = 467 Wh
1
Goal Zero Yeti 500Xsmallest that fits
505 Wh300 W cont · 1,200 W surge~13 h on this load$$
A half-kWh unit for electronics and overnight medical loads.
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⚡ Duty cycle matters here. Like a fridge, cycles on and off — a full freezer holds cold for many hours even unpowered. We size watt-hours on the duty-weighted average (35 W), not the peak — so we don't oversell you capacity.
Can a specific unit run a chest freezer?
29 of the units we track deliver enough watts to run a chest freezer. Check a specific one for the runtime and the full verdict:
What size power station do I need to run a chest freezer?
A chest freezer draws about 100 W running, with a startup surge near 1,000 W. So you want a unit with at least 100 W continuous output and 1,000 W+ surge. For 12 h of runtime that's roughly 467 Wh of capacity — the Goal Zero Yeti 500X is the smallest unit that clears all of it.
How many watts does a chest freezer use?
About 100 W while running, spiking to roughly 1,000 W on startup. It only draws power about 35% of the time, so over an outage its energy use is well below 100 W × the hours — which is why a modest battery lasts longer than you'd expect. Like a fridge, cycles on and off — a full freezer holds cold for many hours even unpowered.
Sources: Chest Freezer wattage — Standard appliance-wattage / generator-sizing charts (representative values; verify your nameplate); station specs — manufacturer published specifications (compiled 2026-06-15; approximate). Informational only — a computed sizing estimate from published appliance-wattage charts and manufacturer station specs. It is not an electrical guarantee. For hardwired or whole-home backup, transfer switches, or any permanent install, consult a licensed electrician.