Portable power station or built system?
A power station is a battery, an inverter and a charge controller in one box with outlets. A built system is the same parts, separate, screwed to the wall. Which one for your project, and what a kWh costs.
Tool: The price of a kWh, todayThe short answer
A power station, if…
- you want to plug in and go: no wiring, no fuses, no electrician;
- it's for an evening or a day of outage (fridge, lights, phones, internet);
- it moves around: camping, tent trailer, fishing boat, a shed in summer;
- you use less than about 1 to 2 kWh a day.
A built system, if…
- the cabin is lived in several days in a row, or the RV year-round;
- appliances draw hard every day: pump, tools, microwave, heating;
- you want to grow later: add batteries, panels, a generator;
- you use more than about 2 kWh a day. Past 3 kWh of reserve, the kWh costs less, and each part is replaced on its own.
Both, often
- a power station for backup at home, a system at the cabin;
- a power station and one panel to start, the system when needs grow;
- the station stays useful afterwards: it follows you camping or hunting.
The price of a kWh, today
For three sizes, the cheapest power station from a known brand, and a 12 V system with the same reserve built from real parts: lithium battery, pure sine wave inverter and MPPT controller. Prices are the ones displayed by suppliers on the date checked.
About 1 kWh
Portable power station
- EcoFlow EcoFlow DELTA 3 Classic
at Costco Canada$659.99
Total$660 · $645 per kWh
Built system (12 V)
- SOK SOK Battery 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 With Clear Sealed Box
at The Cabin Depot Ltd.$579.00 - Renogy Renogy Inverter P2 1000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter 12V DC t…
at Amazon.ca$219.99 - Victron Energy Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/30
at The Cabin Depot Ltd.$176.49
Total$975 · $762 per kWh
About 2 kWh
Portable power station
- Anker Anker SOLIX 1,500W 2,010Wh S2000 Portable Power Station
at The Cabin Depot Ltd.$949.00
Total$949 · $472 per kWh
Built system (12 V)
- SOK SOK Battery 12V 206Ah LiFePO4 With Built-In Heater
at The Cabin Depot Ltd.$1,160.00 - Renogy Renogy Inverter P2 1000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter 12V DC t…
at Amazon.ca$219.99 - Victron Energy Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/30
at The Cabin Depot Ltd.$176.49
Total$1,556 · $590 per kWh
About 3.5 kWh
Portable power station
- EcoFlow EcoFlow DELTA 3 Ultra Portable Power Station (3072Wh)
at Solar Shopping Mall (SAW Technologies)$1,699.00
Total$1,699 · $553 per kWh
Built system (12 V)
- Volthium Batterie 12V 314Ah PLUS
at Volthium$1,599.98 - Renogy Renogy Inverter P2 1000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter 12V DC t…
at Amazon.ca$219.99 - Victron Energy Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/30
at The Cabin Depot Ltd.$176.49
Total$1,996 · $497 per kWh
For the system: wires, fuses and mounts extra, and you have to build it. The station just plugs in. Prices checked on October 23, 2026.
Side by side
What each choice does well, and less well.
| Portable power station | Built system (12 V) | |
|---|---|---|
| Installation | None. Set it down, plug in. | An afternoon of wiring and fuses. A building's 120 V is the electrician's job. |
| Price per kWh | Under 2 kWh, a well-chosen station costs the same or less than separate parts: the box, screen and outlets are included. | Lower from about 3 kWh of reserve up. Big battery modules are the cheapest per kWh. |
| Growing later | Only with the same brand's expansion batteries, when they exist. | Add batteries, panels or a generator, from any brand. |
| When a part fails | The whole thing goes in for repair. A 5-year-old station with no parts is done. | Replace the part: the inverter, one battery, the controller. |
| Solar charging | Limited by the station's input: often 200 to 500 W of panels at most. | As many panels as the controller accepts. Big controller, big array. |
| Generator | Plug it into the station's charger, at the charger's speed. | An inverter-charger recharges fast and powers the outlets at the same time. |
| Cold | Lithium doesn't charge below 0 °C: the station sleeps in the house, not the shed. | Same limit, but heated batteries exist, and you insulate the battery room. |
| Moving around | Its whole job: 10 to 30 kg with a handle. | It stays on the wall. |
Classic traps
- Counting on the whole label capacity: the station keeps a reserve and loses a bit in its inverter. Count 85 to 90% of the displayed Wh.
- Looking at Wh and forgetting output watts: a 1,500 W coffee maker won't start on a 600 W station, whatever its reserve.
- Buying a regular lithium-ion (NMC) station for daily use: 500 to 800 cycles, against more than 3,000 for LiFePO4. Check the chemistry on the data sheet.
- Leaving the station on for nothing: its inverter draws power idle, and a small station can drain in two or three days running nothing.
- Connecting more panels than the solar input accepts: the station limits, or protects itself. Look at the max input watts and voltage.
Words to know
- Wh (watt-hours)
- The reserve. 1,000 Wh is 1 kWh: an efficient fridge for a day, or a coffee maker for 40 minutes.
- Output (W)
- What the station can give at once, continuous and peak. It decides which appliances start, not the reserve.
- Solar input
- The max watts and voltage of panels the station accepts. Beyond that, it limits or refuses.
- LiFePO4
- The chemistry that lasts: more than 3,000 cycles. Regular lithium-ion (NMC) does 500 to 800. Same word “lithium”, not the same lifespan.
- UPS or EPS
- Automatic switchover: the station powers what's plugged into it as soon as the grid drops, within milliseconds.
- Expansion battery
- A same-brand module that plugs into the station to double the reserve. Often almost the price of the station.
To calculate
Next step
Lead-acid, AGM or lithium: which battery should you buy?
The short answer, all three side by side, and a comparator for the prices you see in store.