Late-season games introduce power challenges. Pre-game TV coverage, entertainment, speakers, and charging stations require power. Plus, the setup might include a powered cooler. Fans pack space heaters, blankets, seat cushions, and jackets.
Cold-weather tailgating can increase energy demand, especially when heated gear is added to the usual TV, lighting, and charging loads. It all boils down to understanding what devices are power priorities and how heating affects battery life.
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Cold Weather Tailgating Changes Your Power Priorities
Fall tailgating has a predictable list of power-consuming devices. At a minimum, there’s a TV, speaker, lights, a phone, and a cooler. Fall also adds the use and power consumption of devices to combat the cold—personal heaters.
Personal heaters work by focusing the heat and power where the body is in direct contact with the heater (i.e. heated blankets, heated seats, heated jackets, etc.). Heater pads draw much less wattage than is typically required to warm the surrounding air.
Heated blankets, seat pads, and jackets generally draw far less power than equipment designed to warm the surrounding air, while high-wattage space heaters can drain a power station’s battery much faster.
It is far better to heat people than to try to electrically heat the entire canopy with space heater(s).
Think of Gameday Essentials
Not everyone is willing to show up and leave everything set up and plugged in. Consider your equipment prioritization.
Maybe your highest priority loads are communication devices, game-day entertainment, and game-day lighting. Cold weather accessories can be used more intentionally rather than on a continuous basis.
A heated blanket does not need to operate at full power for four straight hours. Perhaps you use it until you become uncomfortable, turn it off while you move about, and turn it back on when you are still cold.
This strategy would work with almost all equipment. If you will not be using lights, unplug the lights and power bricks. Think about what, if anything, needs to be on all the time.
This balance enables flexibility with tailgating.
How Cold Affects Portable Power Stations
Another thing to keep in mind that many people tend to forget is temperature.
When you use a portable power station, the rechargeable batteries tend to work less efficiently in cold temperatures and can have shorter effective runtimes compared to mild temperatures. Cold temperatures can also change the charging behavior of the batteries.
Just because you have a LiFePO4 battery does not mean you can ignore cold temperatures. There are definite operating and charging temperature ranges for power stations.
Before using your power station in cold weather, refer to the manufacturer's specifications. For the GEYOTO N300 and N1000, the specified charging temperature range is 0°C–45°C (32°F–113°F). If the battery is below that range, let it warm before charging.
This is good advice to remember when the temperatures fall below freezing. You should provide good protection for the power station from ice, snow, and standing water, while still allowing the power station to breathe.
Keep the Power Station Protected. Not Sealed Up.
A power station that sits on the ground in a tailgate parking lot is exposed to wet pavement, snow, and mud and may even get spilled on or knocked over. Place the power station on a stable, dry surface.
A raised, protected position helps keep the power station away from moisture while maintaining airflow. Do not cover the power station in a way that blocks the airflow to the power station.
The best practice is to protect the power station from the elements while keeping it within the manufacturer's specifications.
Getting More Runtime without Adding Another Battery
Some simple steps done before and during the tailgate can really make a huge difference.
Being fully charged is a must, not just expected. Bring the power station fully charged so that you are not relying on a battery recharge to start the day.
Fully charge your devices. Charge your cell phones, portable speakers, and other devices that require charging before you leave home. Do not let your main power bank do all the charging, let it assist in charging devices that still have battery power.
Use heat gear when you need it. Heating gear loses value if you are not using it. Intermittently heating a blanket or seat pad can conserve the energy you are using for other gear that you may need later.
Standby loads should be limited. Leaving your TV on during a commercial break might seem like a small, irrelevant action, but the implications are large and long-term. Pausing your speaker or other similar actions also fall under this category.
Keep some power on standby. Do not use up all your available battery power before the tailgate is complete. There is no reason to gamble and reach full power depletion before the group is ready to end the tailgate.
Choosing a Power Station for a Cold Weather Tailgate
The GEYOTO N1000 is a good choice for larger power needs. The GEYOTO N1000 features a 1,024Wh battery and a 1,800W output. Its 1,800W rated output provides more headroom for a TV and speakers, lighting, lower-watt chargers, and compatible personal heating accessories, provided the combined load stays within the unit's limits.
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For smaller personal needs including phones and other small accessories, consider the GEYOTO N300 which has a battery capacity of 256Wh and an output of 300W.
Matching the proper power station to how you plan to use it is the biggest factor. More capacity is not automatically better; high-draw devices still need to be managed around the station's rated output and available battery capacity.
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Example of a Late-Game Tailgate
Picture a group that starts their late-game tailgate several hours before an afternoon game.
This group has a few hours' worth of TV (100W), a 30W speaker, lighting at 20W, phone charging, and a heated blanket rated at roughly 60W.
If the TV, speaker, lights, and heated blanket are all running at the same time, their combined load is about 210W before phone charging. Total energy use in watt-hours depends on how long each device runs, and actual runtime can vary with conversion losses, temperature, and operating conditions.
Improving the margin is possible by creating a pre-game plan. You can turn off the TV when not in use, only bring out the devices to keep warm when it is cold outside, and pre-charge any devices you can. The goal is to be as intentional as you can with the power draw.
Important Rules
Be sure to check the rules for the game day tailgating. Different stadiums have bans on different things, including rules regarding what can and cannot be done in the parking lots.
Make sure to check what the tailgating rules are for the game day portable power stations, generators, heaters, canopies, cooking equipment, and your car's placement for that particular game day. Different stadiums may have different restrictions on devices and combinations of things permitted.
A setup that works at one stadium may not be permitted at another.
Final Thought
Balance is required for tailgating in cold weather to ensure you get the most use out of your tailgate equipment and stay warm during the wait for the game to start. Instead of wasting a limited supply of power to run every device at once, or to use a big space heater to heat up an area (which in the long run is not very efficient) save your power capacity for your heater and tailgating equipment.
Save some power to charge your devices throughout the game and keep compatible heated gear available when needed. With proper load management, a power station can support your lights, charging needs, entertainment, and personal heating accessories through the tailgate.