What Size Battery To Run A TV? | Solar Powered TV

Last Updated: March 3, 2023

This is going to be a short but thorough guide on what size battery you'd need to run your Tv.

in short, You need about a 5-20 amp-hour (Ah) battery to run most of the Tv for an hour. The exact value will depend on the size of the tv, its type, and the battery depth of discharge limit.

The exact battery size will depend on these 3 factors.

Wattage consumption of your Tv
Tv runtime
Battery type

Table Of Contents show

Tv Wattage Consumption

To check the wattage consumption of your Tv check the specs sheet on the back side of your Tv it'll be mentioned like this.

According to this pic, the wattage consumption of this specific LED Tv is 48 watts. or if the rated power consumption is not mentioned in watts then look for input voltage and amps.

with the help of this formula, you can calculate the wattage (Watts = Volts *amps).

Or to calculate the most accurate wattage consumption of your Tv or any other appliance use this electricity power consumption meter.

Simply plug it in between the main power socket and the appliance power plug.

Also if you're really thinking about going off-grid or using solar power in the future i would highly recommend spending a few bucks on this meter it'll help you in a long run.

For your convenience here's a chart about different sizes and types of Tv with their general wattage consumption.

Tv Power Consumption - Chart

TV size (inches)	TV type	Power Consumption (watts)
18-inch	LED	18-22 W
	LCD	25-32 W
	Plasma	50-75 W
24-inch	LED	24-28 W
	LCD	36-44 W
	Plasma	75-95 W
32-inch	LED	35-40 W
	LCD	50-60 W
	Plasma	100-130 W
40-inch	LED	40-50 W
	LCD	60-70 W
	Plasma	120-160 W
50-inch	LED	50-60 W
	LCD	75-90 W
	Plasma	150-200 W
60-inch	LED	60-75 W
	LCD	90-110 W
	Plasma	200-250 W

^{_{how much power does a tv use? chart}}

Note: This is the general overview of how many watts a Tv will consume while running, to calculate the exact power consumption use the method discussed earlier.

Introduction To Batteries (Types, DoD limit)

Now quickly let's discuss the mechanisms of batteries, their types, what is the depth of discharge limit, what Amp-hours mean on a battery, and how the voltage of a battery affects the capacity and battery capacity in watt-hours (wh).

Battery Capacity (Ah, Volts)

Battery capacity is measured in amp-hours (ah). amperage or amps is the unit to describe the electric current. Amp-hours are used to describe the total current storage capacity of a battery.

in simple words, Amp-hours is the length of a pipe and voltage is the width of a pipe. These together will determine how much water you can store in the pipe, and in this case, it's the power.

(Watts = Amps * Volts)

So to calculate how many watts of power your battery can hold use this formula

Battery capacity Watt-hours (Wh) = Battery capacity amp-hours (Ah) * Battery Volts

24v battery can store more power than the same capacity (ah) 12v battery.

Battery Types & DoD limit

batteries are made of different chemical reactions which is why there are few types of batteries available on the market. The main point you need to keep in mind is the battery depth of discharge limit or DoD limit.

Every battery type has a different discharge limit, here's a chart about different types of batteries and their recommended DoD limit.

Battery Type	DoD limit
Lead-acid	50% Depth of discharge limit
AGM	50% Depth of discharge limit
Gel	50% Depth of discharge limit
Lithium-ion	100% Depth of discharge limit
LiFePO4	100% Depth of discharge limit

_{^{Chart: Battery Type and DoD limit}}

only lithium or LiFePO4 battery type can be fully discharged, on the other hand lead-acid, AGM, and gel batteries are not recommended to be discharged below 50%. Discharging them below 50% will decrease their lifespan.

Charge cycle: in simple words when the battery is charged to 100% and discharged to its recommended DoD limit.

Related Post: Solar Panel Calculator For Battery

Steps To Calculate Battery Size For Your TV

Now follow these steps to calculate the size of a battery for your Tv.

Step 1: Multiply Tv Wattage Consumption By Running Hours

Run hours will be the total number of hours in a day when you'd like to watch your Tv.

For example, Let's suppose you have a 32-inch LED Tv which consumes about 40 watts of power when running. And the total running hours of your Tv is about 3 hours a day.

40 * 3 = 120Wh

So you'd need 120Wh of power to run a 32-inch LED Tv for 3 hours a day.

Step 2: Divide The Tv Total Wattage Consumption By 12

Diving the required wat-hours by 12 will give you the number of power you'd need in amp-hours (ah) as the capacity of the battery is measured in amp-hours.

why by 12? to select a 12v battery.

120 / 12 = 10Ah

Step: 3 Add an extra 20%

An extra 20% is added to cover up the losses due to DC-AC conversion losses.

10 * 1.2 or 10 + 20% = 12Ah

you'd need around a 12v 15ah Lithium battery with a 100% depth of discharge limit or a 12v 30ah Lead-acid battery with a 50% depth of discharge limit to run a 32-inch LED Tv for 3 hours.

What Size Battery Do I Need To Run My Tv? - Chart

Here's a chart on what size of battery you'd need to run any size Tv for an hour.

TV size (inches) & Type	Power Consumption (watts)	Required 12v Lead-acid Battery Size To Run this Tv for an hour	Required 12v Lithium Battery Size To Run this Tv for an hour
18-inch
LED	20 watts	7ah	5ah
LCD	30 watts	7ah	5ah
Plasma	60 watts	12ah	6ah
24-inch
LED	25 watts	7ah	5ah
LCD	40 watts	8ah	5ah
Plasma	80 watts	16ah	8ah
32-inch
LED	35 watts	7ah	5ah
LCD	55 watts	12ah	6ah
Plasma	110 watts	22ah	12ah
40-inch
LED	50 watts	12ah	6ah
LCD	70 watts	15ah	8ah
Plasma	150 watts	30ah	15ah
50-inch
LED	60 watts	12ah	6ah
LCD	80 watts	16ah	8ah
Plasma	180 watts	36ah	20ah
60-inch
LED	75 watts	15ah	7ah
LCD	100 watts	20ah	10ah
Plasma	220 watts	44ah	22ah

^{_{Table: What size Battery to Run A Tv?}}

Summary

You'd need around 12v 7ah lead-acid or 5ah lithium battery to run a 24-inch LED Tv for an hour.
You'd need around 12v 12ah lead-acid or 6ah lithium battery to run a 40-inch LED Tv for an hour.
You'd need around 12v 20ah lead-acid or 10ah lithium battery to run a 60-inch LCD Tv for an hour.

Watch This Video To Increase The Battery Runtime On a Tv

I hope this short guide was helpful to you. still, have any confusion? LEAVE A COMMENT or contact us. Thank You!

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Chris Tsitouris

Chris Tsitouris is a renewable energy professional with 10+ years of experience as Director of Engineering at Solar Spectrum, previously working as Project Manager at SunPower and Energy Analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. As a thought leader, Chris has authored numerous articles and research papers.