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120 Ah battery backup time

How long a 12 V 120 Ah tubular inverter battery runs at different loads, alone and as a 24 V pair.

  • About 5 h 10 min at 200 W
  • About 2 h at 400 W

One 120 Ah battery (12 V inverter)

A fully charged, healthy battery. At 400 W it discharges at about 0.35C, against the C20 (0.05C) its Ah is rated at, so it gives less than the label.

LoadBackupExample
50 W23 hWi-Fi and two lights
100 W11 h 30 minA fan and three lights
150 W7 h 20 min
200 W5 h 10 minTwo fans, four lights, TV
250 W3 h 55 min
300 W3 hThree fans, lights, TV, Wi-Fi
400 W2 hThree fans, six lights, TV, Wi-Fi
500 W1 h 20 minAdd the fridge
600 W1 h 05 minFour fans, lights, TV, fridge
800 W50 minA big house, or a cooler

Two 120 Ah batteries (24 V inverter)

The usual set-up for 1.5 kVA and 2 kVA inverters.

LoadBackup (2 batteries, 24 V)
300 W7 h 20 min
400 W5 h 10 min
500 W3 h 55 min
600 W3 h
800 W2 h
1000 W1 h 20 min
1200 W1 h 05 min
1500 W55 min

120 Ah models we list

Specs as stated on each manufacturer’s page. Sorted by brand; we don’t rank them.

ModelTypeWarrantyMaker’s backup at 400 W
Exide FEM0-IMTT1200tall tubularNot stated—

Method: watt-hours at 12 V × the share lead-acid delivers at that current, fitted to V-Guard’s published 400 W backup table, ÷ load. Checked against Exide’s Inva Zen tables, which it matches within about 10% from 200 to 400 W and undershoots at 100 W. Real backup falls as the battery ages.