How Long Will It Run

How long will a DJI Power 500 run LED Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs)?

About 8.5 hours — 8 h 28 min typically, from 7 h 58 min in the worst case to 8 h 57 min at best. That assumes LED Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs) pulling 35 W continuously, plus the station's 9 W AC mains socket overhead — 44 W in total out of 372 usable watt-hours.

About a sixth of the same tree in old incandescent bulbs, and cool enough to touch.

The numbers

DJI Power 500 · 512 Wh · new pack at 20 °C, 10% reserve
SetupAverage drawCautiousTypicalBest case
1 × LED Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs), UK 230 V44 W7 h 58 min8 h 28 min8 h 57 min
2 × LED Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs), UK 230 V79 W4 h 26 min4 h 43 min4 h 59 min
1 × LED Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs), US 120 V44 W7 h 58 min8 h 28 min8 h 57 min
  • 1.1 nights of eight hours, or 0.35 days of continuous running.
  • Usable energy: 372 Wh of the 512 Wh on the box, after chemistry, inverter losses and the reserve.
  • To keep it going for a full 24 hours you would need about 1,453 Wh of rated capacity — 2.8× this station.
  • Start-up: the LED Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs) asks for 35 W at switch-on against this station's 2,200 W peak — comfortable.

Buy the DJI Power 500

Where to buy

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What changes the answer

If instead…Typical runtimeChange
The pack is two years old7 h 47 min-8%
The pack is five years old6 h 46 min-20%
It is −10 °C outside7 h 11 min-15%
You run it flat, no reserve9 h 24 min+11%
You keep 20% back7 h 31 min-11%

If you need it to run longer

These run LED Christmas tree lights (500 bulbs) for at least twice as long as the DJI Power 500 does, cheapest first.

StationWhTypicalIndicative price
Jackery Explorer 1000 v21,07017 h 17 min£419 / $549
Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus1,26419 h 58 min£549 / $999
ALLPOWERS R15001,15217 h 49 min£699 / $539
Bluetti AC1801,15217 h 49 min£749 / $499

The cheapest step up: Jackery Explorer 1000 v2

Amazon and approved-programme links are affiliate links; the site may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Links marked “official site” are untracked. Prices and stock change constantly — check before you buy.

Smaller options that still work

StationWhTypicalWeightIndicative price
Goal Zero Yeti 5004998 h 14 min7.3 kg— / $500
Bluetti AC50B4487 h 24 min6.5 kg£299 / $399
Bluetti AC604036 h 40 min9.1 kg£449 / $599
Bluetti Elite 30 V22885 h 18 min4.3 kg£229 / $449