How Long Will It Run

How long will an EcoFlow RIVER Pro run a window air conditioner, 5,000 BTU?

About an hour — 1 h 23 min typically, from 1 h 18 min in the worst case to 1 h 28 min at best. That assumes a window air conditioner, 5,000 BTU pulling 500 W for 70% of the time (average 350 W), plus the station's 10 W AC mains socket overhead — 360 W in total out of 496 usable watt-hours.

The smallest common window unit and the only one a mid-sized station handles for a few hours.

The numbers

EcoFlow RIVER Pro · 720 Wh · new pack at 20 °C, 10% reserve
SetupAverage drawCautiousTypicalBest case
1 × window air conditioner, 5,000 BTU, UK 230 V360 W1 h 18 min1 h 23 min1 h 28 min
2 × window air conditioner, 5,000 BTU, UK 230 V710 W———
1 × window air conditioner, 5,000 BTU, US 120 V360 W1 h 18 min1 h 23 min1 h 28 min
  • 0.2 nights of eight hours, or 0.06 days of continuous running.
  • Usable energy: 496 Wh of the 720 Wh on the box, after chemistry, inverter losses and the reserve.
  • To keep it going for a full 24 hours you would need about 11,889 Wh of rated capacity — 16.5× this station.
  • Start-up: the window air conditioner, 5,000 BTU asks for 1,200 W at switch-on against this station's 1,200 W peak — comfortable.

Buy the EcoFlow RIVER Pro

Where to buy

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If this is for a power cut

In a summer outage, cooling is what a battery struggles with most. A rechargeable fan by the bed runs for hours on its own battery and costs far less than running an air conditioner from a station.

Rechargeable fan. After a hurricane the power can stay off for days in heat and humidity. A battery fan by the bed is what makes the nights bearable, and it runs for hours from a power bank.

Look for: USB-C charging, a stated runtime on low, and a clip or stand so it can sit close to you.

Power bank, 20,000 mAh. Keeps a phone going for days if you use it sparingly.

Look for: Capacity in watt-hours as well as mAh (about 74 Wh for 20,000 mAh), USB-C in and out, and keep it charged.

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More: Hurricane power outage checklist, and the power cut essentials list (US edition).

What changes the answer

If instead…Typical runtimeChange
The pack is two years old1 h 16 min-8%
The pack is five years old1 h 6 min-20%
It is −10 °C outside1 h 6 min-20%
You run it flat, no reserve1 h 32 min+11%
You keep 20% back1 h 13 min-12%

If you need it to run longer

These run a window air conditioner, 5,000 BTU for at least twice as long as the EcoFlow RIVER Pro does, cheapest first.

StationWhTypicalIndicative price
Jackery Explorer 2000 v22,0424 h 5 min£849 / $999
Bluetti AC180P1,4402 h 53 min£899 / $649
OUKITEL P2001 Ultimate2,0004 h£999 / $1,099
Bluetti AC2401,5363 h 4 min£1,099 / $999

The cheapest step up: Jackery Explorer 2000 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
Bluetti EB70S7161 h 27 min9.7 kg£449 / $429
UGREEN PowerRoam 6006801 h 23 min8.4 kg£449 / $499
Jackery Explorer 600 Plus6321 h 17 min7.3 kg—
EcoFlow RIVER 3 Max5121 h 2 min6.6 kg—