Medical · Gear Review
CPAP Batteries. One quiet night, then the next.
For keeping a CPAP running through a power outage, our pick is the EXP48PRO APEX. It waits by the bed, takes over without a switch, and its cells are rated for far more charge cycles than the others. If you fly often, one of the smaller Medistrom batteries below is the easier carry.
At a glance: EXP48PRO APEX
Strengths
- Its lithium iron phosphate cells are rated for up to 5,000 charge cycles, where the others here list about 500.
- It carries a two-year warranty, twice the one year the other picks offer.
- Plugged in, it runs the CPAP from the battery while it charges, so an outage needs no switchover.
- Its maker rates it for two to three nights with the humidifier and heated tube off.
Limitations
- At 153.6 watt-hours it needs your airline's approval before you fly with it.
- At 3.25 pounds it is the heaviest battery on this page.
- It is sold by its maker and CPAP retailers, not through Amazon.
- Independent owner reports are still thin, and most reviews sit on retail sites.
Planning guidance, not medical advice. Confirm what your machine can safely run on with its manufacturer or your equipment supplier, and ask your prescriber whether a night without heated humidification is acceptable for you. FDA's advice is to read the user instructions or call the distributor or maker. (FDA)
Before you buy
Three answers pick the battery for you.
Every battery on this page is a sealed box of stored energy with a cable to your machine. What separates them is how much they hold, which machines they fit, and whether you can carry them onto a plane. Answer these three with your machine in front of you.
1. Which machine, exactly?
ResMed's AirSense and AirMini machines run on 24 volts. Philips DreamStation 1 and 2 machines run on 12; the DreamStation Go travel model is different. Each battery reaches your machine through a cable made for that model, and the AirSense 11 in particular often needs a cable kit sold separately. The model name is on the front of the machine or on its label. None of the batteries on this page is made by ResMed or Philips; each battery maker publishes its own list of the machines and cables it supports, and ResMed's US battery page lists no battery for the AirSense 11. (ResMed)
2. Heat on, or heat off?
The heated humidifier and heated tube use far more power than the machine itself. With them off, a battery near 100 watt-hours runs most machines through a night. With them on, the same battery may last two or three hours. This one setting matters more than any brand.
3. Will you fly with it?
FAA limits lithium-ion batteries to 100 watt-hours each, allows up to two spares between 101 and 160 watt-hours with airline approval, and requires spares to travel in carry-on bags only. (FAA) A battery under 100 watt-hours is the simple one to fly with. A larger one holds more nights at home.
A CPAP battery is the wrong purchase when
- The device is an oxygen concentrator or a ventilator. Those need a plan set by your prescriber and supplier first.
- Outages where you live usually run several days. That calls for a way to recharge, not just a bigger battery.
- You will not run without heated humidification. A portable power station is the better fit.
Our Backup Power for Medical Devices handbook walks through each of those cases.
The verdict
Four batteries, two different jobs.
The two larger batteries cover two or three nights at home and fly only with airline approval. The two smaller ones cover one night or so and fly without asking. All four can sit by the bed and take over when the power drops.
Our pick for outages at home
EXP48PRO APEX
Long-lived cells, a two-year warranty, and backup with no switchover. Fits ResMed and Philips machines.
About $400 to $470
Lighter, cables in the box
Freedom CPAP Battery 160
Slightly more capacity at two-thirds the weight, with cables for ResMed and Philips machines included.
About $350
Flies without approval, ResMed
Medistrom Pilot-24 Lite
95 watt-hours for 24-volt machines. Cables for the AirSense 10 and AirMini included.
About $300 to $340
Flies without approval, Philips
Medistrom Pilot-12 Lite
The same 95 watt-hour battery for 12-volt DreamStation 1 and 2 machines.
About $300 to $340
Affiliate disclosure: New World Survival earns a small commission on qualifying Amazon purchases at no cost to you. This helps us cover operating costs and keep building new content. We only recommend gear we would put in our own kit. Commission never decides a recommendation. Our top pick is sold by its maker rather than through Amazon, and we earn nothing when you buy it.
Why the pick wins
A battery that waits for years, not months.
An outage battery spends most of its life on a shelf or a nightstand. The question is not how it performs the week you buy it. It is whether it still works the night you need it, three winters later.
01
Cells built to last
EXP PRO uses lithium iron phosphate cells rated for up to 5,000 charge cycles. Medistrom lists over 500 for its Pilot Lites, and the Freedom 160's maker gives 500 cycles or about two to three years, whichever comes first.
02
A longer promise
A two-year limited warranty, where the Freedom and Medistrom batteries carry one year. In a category where owners report failures in the second year, that gap matters.
03
No switchover
Plugged in, the CPAP runs from the battery while the battery charges. EXP PRO says that means there is nothing to switch over when the wall power drops.
04
Two ways to refill
A wall charger and a car charger both come in the box, and a full charge from the wall takes about 2.5 hours. For an outage that runs past the first night, a running car becomes a way to start the next one.
Those figures come from EXP PRO. (EXP PRO; EXP PRO FAQ; warranty) We looked for independent runtime testing of CPAP batteries and found none for any battery on this page. The best-known list, Sleep Foundation's, names the Medistrom Pilot-24 Lite as its top choice but does not describe testing it, and its runtime estimates are in line with the maker's claims. (Sleep Foundation) We rank the Pilot-24 Lite lower for home outages because it holds about 60 percent of the energy and offers half the warranty. For flying, we agree it is a good choice.
EXP PRO also publishes the plainest warning of any maker we read: its batteries are not life-support systems, medical alarms, or guaranteed uninterrupted power supplies, and you should not rely on one as the only source of power when an interruption could cause serious injury or death. (EXP PRO) That is true of every battery here. We count it in EXP PRO's favor that it says so.
The picks
Pick by the machine, and the trip.
Every runtime below is the maker's figure, measured with the heated humidifier and heated tube off. Your pressure, mask fit, and room change the answer, so test on an ordinary night.
Our pick for outages at home
EXP PRO EXP48PRO APEX
A 153.6 watt-hour lithium iron phosphate battery from EXP PRO, the trade name of Western Medical, Inc. It puts out 12 or 24 volts through a DC cord for your machine, which you choose at checkout, and lists the AirSense 11, AirSense 10, AirMini, DreamStation, DreamStation 2, and others as compatible. A car charger comes in the box. EXP PRO rates it for two to three nights with the humidifier and heated tube off. (EXP PRO)
EXP PRO recommends avoiding the humidifier and heated hose on battery power, and points owners who need them to its larger EXP96PRO APEX, which it rates for about one night with both running. At 307.2 watt-hours, EXP PRO says that model cannot be carried on passenger aircraft. (EXP PRO FAQ; EXP96PRO APEX)
At 153.6 watt-hours it falls in FAA's 101 to 160 watt-hour band, so you need your airline's approval to fly with it. (FAA) It is sold through EXP PRO and CPAP retailers, and EXP PRO's warranty excludes purchases from unauthorized resellers, so buy from the maker or a retailer it names.
Specifications
Lighter, cables in the box
Freedom CPAP Battery 160
A 160 watt-hour lithium-ion battery at 2.13 pounds, sold by cpaphero, the new name of Battery Power Solutions. (cpaphero) The kit includes a 24-volt cable for the AirSense 10, AirSense 11, and AirMini, a 12-volt cable for the DreamStation 1 and 2, and a charger, which makes it the easiest of these batteries to carry from one machine to the next. In its backup setup, the battery bypasses its cells while wall power is present and starts powering the machine automatically if the power is lost. (cpaphero; Freedom 160 manual)
Its runtime figures do not agree with each other. The manual lists 30 hours for an AirSense 11 at a pressure of 10 with heat off, while the Amazon listing says up to 24 hours for the same machine, and the maker's product page says three to five nights. Plan on the lowest of those numbers: about two nights, which is what owners most often report. The manual also says heated humidification or tubing can cut runtime by up to two thirds, and that capacity drops by 30 percent when the battery runs between 23 and 32°F.
The maker gives a life of 500 cycles or about two to three years, whichever comes first, and a one-year warranty. Like the EXP48PRO APEX, it needs airline approval to fly.
Specifications
Flies without approval, ResMed
Medistrom Pilot-24 Lite
A 95 watt-hour battery for 24-volt machines, at 1.3 pounds. Cables for the AirSense 10 and AirMini come in the box. The AirSense 11 needs Medistrom's cable kit, sold separately, and the battery does not work with a Philips DreamStation. Medistrom rates it for one to two nights at an average pressure with the humidifier and heated tube off, and describes it as an uninterruptible backup when set up by the bed. (Medistrom; Pilot Lite manual)
One setup detail trips people up. The manual says the AirMini's own power adapter can charge the battery but cannot be used in the backup setup. Use the AirSense adapter or Medistrom's adapter for that.
Under 100 watt-hours, it is the simple one to fly with under FAA's rules, though Medistrom still advises confirming with your airline. Its warranty is 12 months, and the manual says failing to recharge it at least every six months in storage voids that warranty.
Specifications
Flies without approval, Philips
Medistrom Pilot-12 Lite
The 12-volt version of the same battery: 95 watt-hours, 1.3 pounds, with the DC cable for the DreamStation 1, DreamStation 2, and System One 60 Series included, according to Medistrom's 2026 manual. Its product page marks DreamStation 2 cable kits as sold separately, so confirm with the seller before you order. It does not work with the DreamStation Go or any ResMed machine. It shares the Pilot-24 Lite's backup setup, its 12-month warranty, and its six-month storage recharge rule. (Pilot Lite manual)
If you use a DreamStation and fly, this is the battery we would carry. If you use a DreamStation and mainly want outage cover at home, the Freedom 160 or EXP48PRO APEX holds more.
Specifications
What owners actually say
Good at outages, short of the box.
These patterns come from CPAP community forums and retailer reviews. A theme appears here only when more than one owner raises it independently. No battery in this category gets glowing marks: the Amazon listings for the Freedom 160 and both Pilot Lites average in the high 3s out of 5.
Medistrom Pilot Lite
Owners consistently report about one night on a full-size machine with heat off, more on an AirMini, and only a few hours with the humidifier and heated tube on. Several say it kept their CPAP running through a real outage.
The recurring complaints are cable confusion, especially with the AirSense 11, and units that stopped charging or would not switch off after one to three years.
Freedom 160
Owners report two to three nights with humidity off and praise the automatic takeover when the power drops.
The recurring complaints are failures around the one-year mark with little help once the warranty ran out, and cables that change between machine generations, so an older Freedom cable may not fit a newer machine. Several Amazon buyers also report a cord missing from the box, so check the contents when it arrives.
EXP48PRO APEX
Retail reviewers mostly report about two nights per charge, and a few find it heavier than expected.
We found no forum discussion substantial enough to call a pattern. That is the main risk in our pick: its strengths are on paper and in its warranty, not yet in years of owner reports.
One more pattern, from AirSense 11 owners
More than one owner has described an AirSense 11 that kept turning off and on when run from DC power, with the cause never found. It is not common, and it is exactly the kind of thing a test night catches.
The one thing to know
The humidifier decides the night.
Medistrom published runtimes for its 98 watt-hour Pilot Flex, a battery close in size to the Pilot Lites. On an AirSense 11 at a pressure of 10, it lists 11 hours 34 minutes with the humidifier and heated tube off, and 2 hours 17 minutes with them on. (Medistrom) Same battery, same machine, one setting.
That is why every maker on this page quotes its runtimes with heat off, and why most owner disappointment traces back to the humidifier. Ask your prescriber whether a night or two without heated humidification is acceptable for you. If it is not, plan on a much larger store of energy, such as a portable power station.
Our printable medical device power plan has room to write down your machine's draw with heat on and off.
How they fail, what they cost
Mostly from neglect, sometimes from age.
These batteries share their failure modes. Each one has a simple check.
A battery that sat too long
Lithium batteries drain slowly on a shelf. Medistrom says to recharge every six months in storage, and EXP PRO says every three. Put the date on a calendar.
The wrong cable
The most common owner complaint. When you change machines, check the battery maker's cable list before the next storm, not during it.
Cells at the end of their life
A shorter night than last year is the signal. The Freedom's maker expects about two to three years. When runtime drops noticeably, replace it rather than trust it.
Settings after the outage
FDA notes that many medical devices return to a default mode when power is interrupted, and says to check settings once power is back. (FDA)
When it dies
None of these batteries is meant to be opened or repaired at home; the Freedom's manual says not to disassemble or attempt to repair it. Within warranty, contact the maker directly with your proof of purchase. Outside it, recycle the old battery at a battery drop-off and replace it.
The running cost
No filters or fuel, just electricity and replacement. Spread over its expected life, a lithium-ion battery in the $300 to $350 range works out to roughly $100 to $175 a year. A lithium iron phosphate battery costs more up front; if its longer cycle rating holds up in your home, it costs less per year. Budget for a new machine cable whenever you change machines.
What we didn't pick
And who should skip these.
ResMed Power Station II
ResMed's US battery page lists its own battery for the AirSense 10 and AirCurve 10 only, and no battery for the AirSense 11. (ResMed) In its blog, ResMed describes an outage as a moment to unplug the CPAP from the wall and plug it into the battery yourself. (ResMed blog) Every pick on this page takes over on its own.
Medistrom Pilot Flex
A newer 98 watt-hour battery that runs both 12 and 24 volt machines and charges over USB-C. Only the AirMini cable comes in the box, and its early Amazon ratings trail the Pilot Lites. Worth a look once it has a longer record.
Philips PAP Battery Kit
Philips' own 90 watt-hour battery lists the DreamStation and System One series but not the DreamStation 2, and carries a six-month warranty on its US page. (Philips) The Pilot-12 Lite covers both DreamStation models.
Batteries with a wall outlet
Some CPAP batteries, such as the Portable Outlet X9, run the machine through its own power brick from a built-in AC outlet. That works with almost any machine. (Portable Outlet) Because the power is converted to AC and back to DC inside your machine's power brick, some energy is lost that a direct DC cable avoids.
If outages run for days
Two or three nights is the ceiling here. For longer, a power station with solar or vehicle recharging does more, and in OutdoorGearLab's testing power stations delivered roughly 60 to 93 percent of their rated capacity as household current. (OutdoorGearLab) See our power station comparison.
If it is oxygen or a ventilator
These batteries are made for sleep therapy. For a concentrator, makers call for backup oxygen, and for a device that must never stop, the plan starts with your prescriber. Our handbook explains why.
Where it fits in your readiness
The first night, covered before it starts.
A CPAP battery belongs in the Survive tier for any household with a CPAP: bought once, kept charged, and working from the first minute the power goes out.
Power outage
The main reason to own one. Set it up by the bed so it takes over without waking you.
Hurricane
Outages you can see coming. Charge it fully when the forecast turns, and pack it if you might leave.
Winter storm and ice storm
Cold cuts capacity: the Freedom's maker says by 30 percent between 23 and 32°F. Keep the battery in a warm room, not a car or garage.
Backup power for medical devices
How each kind of backup works, what the labels mean, and what the power makers say about medical use.
Power outage checklist
The lights, power, and household items to have ready before the grid goes down.
Medical preparedness checklist
The medicine, records, and device items to tick off.
Maintenance
Ready before the forecast.
- Run one full night on the battery when you first get it, with your real settings, and write down how much charge was left.
- Repeat that test night twice a year. A shorter night than last time is your replacement signal.
- If the battery lives in a closet, recharge it on the schedule its maker gives: every three months for EXP PRO, every six for Medistrom.
- Keep the machine's cable with the battery, and check it still fits after any machine change.
- Store it indoors in a cool, dry room. The Freedom's maker gives an ideal range of 60 to 80°F.
- Keep FDA's other advice in mind: do not plug in a cord or device that is wet. (FDA)
Questions people ask
When the machine goes quiet.
Can a CPAP battery sit by the bed and take over if the power goes out?
Yes, if it is set up for it. All four batteries on this page have a backup setup: the wall power runs through the battery to the CPAP, and if the power drops the battery carries on. Some setups have no automatic takeover: ResMed's own blog describes moving the plug from the wall to the battery by hand in an outage. Test the setup on a normal night before you rely on it.
Is it OK to leave a CPAP battery plugged in all the time?
The makers of these four batteries describe a bedside backup setup, with wall power running through the battery, as normal use; the Freedom 160, for example, bypasses its cells while wall power is present. The Freedom's manual also says to disconnect all devices when the CPAP is not in use so the battery can shut down fully. For a battery kept in storage, Medistrom says to recharge every six months and EXP PRO every three months.
How long will a CPAP battery last with the humidifier on?
Hours, not nights. Medistrom's own tests of its 98 watt-hour Pilot Flex on an AirSense 11 at a pressure of 10 show about 11.5 hours with the humidifier and heated tube off and about 2 hours 17 minutes with them on. The Freedom 160's maker says heat can cut runtime by up to two thirds. If you need heat, plan on a larger battery or a power station.
Can I bring my CPAP battery on a plane?
Usually, with limits. FAA limits lithium-ion batteries to 100 watt-hours each, allows up to two spares between 101 and 160 watt-hours with airline approval, and requires spares to travel in carry-on bags only. The Medistrom Pilot Lite batteries are under 100 watt-hours. The Freedom 160 and EXP48PRO APEX need airline approval. Check your airline's rules before you fly.
Do I need a 12V to 24V converter for my ResMed?
Not with these batteries, as long as you match the battery to your machine. The Pilot-24 Lite, Freedom 160, and EXP48PRO APEX supply 24 volts to a ResMed through a cable made for it; the Pilot-12 Lite does not work with ResMed machines. ResMed's DC converters are for running a machine from a car or boat battery or a vehicle power socket. The cable is where people get stuck, so confirm the battery maker's cable for your exact model before you order.
Researched October 2026. Specifications, cables, and warranties come from each maker's own pages and manuals, checked on the date above. We re-check this comparison when the makers change their lineups.