Starlink power requirements: the checklist before you buy a battery

Starlink’s power requirements come down to five numbers. Mini: averages 25–40 W Official spec: From a Starlink specification sheet or help article. Checked Oct 5, 2026, idles at 15 W Official spec: From a Starlink specification sheet or help article. Checked Oct 5, 2026, takes 12 V Official spec: From a Starlink specification sheet or help article. Checked Oct 5, 2026–48 V Official spec: From a Starlink specification sheet or help article. Checked Oct 5, 2026 DC rated at 60 W Official spec: From a Starlink specification sheet or help article. Checked Oct 5, 2026, or USB-C PD at 100 W Official spec: From a Starlink specification sheet or help article. Checked Oct 5, 2026 (20 V / 5 A). Standard: averages 75–100 W Official spec: From a Starlink specification sheet or help article. Checked Oct 5, 2026, idles at 20 W Official spec: From a Starlink specification sheet or help article. Checked Oct 5, 2026, runs from an AC power supply. Any battery, inverter or socket you buy has to meet the input requirement and hold enough watt-hours for your hours. The checklist below goes line by line.

The requirements, side by side

Starlink notes that its watt figures include the dish, router, power supply and cables, are measured as AC-input averages, and vary with temperature, location and use. The full list, with idle, snow-melt and owner readings, is on our watts table.

1. Match the input

Mini. Two supported battery paths: a DC output in the 12 V–48 V range, or a USB-C PD port that delivers 100 W at 20 V / 5 A through Starlink’s USB-C to barrel cable. Starlink says Starlink says the Mini will not work with USB PD sources rated 65 W or lower. In its aviation section, Starlink also confirms In its aviation section Starlink says the Mini can be powered by a battery that meets its power requirements, and runs on 110 VAC or 12-48 VDC, 60 W. The supplied AC power supply works from any outlet or inverter.

Standard. The supplied power supply is AC. On batteries, that means an inverter or Starlink’s DC-DC supply: The Standard DC-DC Power Supply accepts 12-48 V DC at up to 30 A and outputs 56 V at 3.57 A. We’d use a pure sine inverter for any electronics’ power supply; Starlink’s documents we checked don’t specify the waveform.

Not supported: Power over Ethernet is not supported on Starlink Mini.

2. Size the watt-hours for your hours

Energy is watts × hours. Left on for 24 hours at Starlink’s averages:

Real days often land lower: one van owner logged 486 Wh/day Community report: A dated measurement posted by an owner, cited. Checked Oct 5, 2026 for a Mini left on 24/7. But size for the top end if running out matters, then add the battery’s own losses: we plan with 80% of a power bank’s label being usable, 85% for a power station and 90% for LiFePO4, plus 90% conversion on DC or 87% through an inverter Planning assumption: Our stated assumption, used until bench results replace it. The runtime walkthrough shows the arithmetic, and the calculator does it for your hours.

3. Check continuous and peak watts

A battery’s output port must handle more than the average:

• Mini: wire and choose ports for the 60 W input rating. At 12 V that’s 5 A; fuse and gauge for it. Boot is the most demanding moment: one owner measured 36–39 W Community report: A dated measurement posted by an owner, cited. Checked Oct 5, 2026 for the first minutes. See startup draw.
• Standard: the power supply’s label reads: The Standard 4 X power supply is AC: 100-240 V, 2.5 A, 50-60 Hz. That nameplate (about 300 W at 120 V) is a worst-case input limit, not a draw, but an inverter should comfortably exceed the dish’s real peak. An anonymous Best Buy answer claims a Gen 3 kit draws noticeably more in its first minutes; we couldn’t verify it, so it isn’t used here.
• Router: 60 W Official spec: From a Starlink specification sheet or help article. Checked Oct 5, 2026 is the Gen 3 router’s power supply rating, not its draw. Starlink publishes no separate router figure; the Standard’s averages already include it.

4. Check the environment

Power gear has temperature limits too:

• The Mini runs from -22 °F Official spec: From a Starlink specification sheet or help article. Checked Oct 5, 2026 to 122 °F Official spec: From a Starlink specification sheet or help article. Checked Oct 5, 2026. The Mini power supply is rated IP66 Type 4.
• Starlink says Starlink says the router and power supply are also rated to operate indoors between 0 and +30°C (+32 to +86°F).
• Lithium batteries shouldn’t be charged below freezing; see charging LiFePO4 below freezing.
• Snow melt raises draw. Snow Melt has Off, Automatic (recommended) and Pre-heat modes; Pre-heat may increase power consumption and Off uses no extra power.

5. Know what Starlink guarantees

Starlink only guarantees Mini performance with the included Starlink power supply and cable. Official spec: From a Starlink specification sheet or help article. Checked Oct 5, 2026 That doesn’t mean third-party batteries don’t work; many owners run them daily. It means you carry the risk if a non-Starlink source misbehaves, so meeting the published requirement exactly is your best protection.

The battery checklist

Before you buy, the battery should have:

• For the Mini: a USB-C port labeled 20V⎓5A (100 W) on its own, or a 12–48 V DC output that can supply 60 W continuously.
• For the Standard: a pure sine AC outlet with headroom over the dish’s peak, or a DC output feeding Starlink’s DC-DC supply.
• Watt-hours for your hours at the top of the average range, after losses.
• An always-on output. Some stations switch off a port at low load; the Mini at idle can trigger it.
• Pass-through charging if it will sit on solar or a car charger while running.
• A temperature range that matches where it will live, including charging limits.

For the USB-C label in detail, see what “PD 100W” promises. For the 12 V current and wire gauge, see Starlink on 12 V.

Common mistakes

• Treating the input rating as the average. 60 W is the ceiling; size the battery at the average and the wiring at the ceiling.
• Treating the power supply’s nameplate as consumption. A supply labeled for 1.6 A or 2.5 A at 100–240 V isn’t drawing that all the time.
• Assuming any USB-C bank will do. The 20 V / 5 A profile is a hard requirement.
• Adding a router figure on top of the Standard’s. Starlink’s averages already include the router.

What to do next

Compare both dishes in Mini vs Standard power consumption, then size your battery with the calculator. Every figure on this page lives on the watts table with its source and date.