Pi Power Estimator

4.6
72 reviews
5K+
Downloads
Content rating
Everyone
Screenshot image
Screenshot image
Screenshot image
Screenshot image
Screenshot image
Screenshot image
Screenshot image
Screenshot image
Screenshot image
Screenshot image
Screenshot image
Screenshot image
Screenshot image

About this app

Pi Power Estimator allows you to calculate the run-time of a Raspberry Pi running from a USB power bank, set of AA/AAA batteries or a single PP3 9V battery.

It has the following features :

- Select Model A, B, A+, B+, Pi 2, Pi 3, Pi 4 or Pi Zero
- Select different capacities of USB power banks from 2200 to 20000mAh
- Select different AA/AAA cell capacities and voltages
- Select PP3 9V battery capacities
- Choose from a set of features that affect energy use such as Ethernet, HDMI and WiFi
- Choose the number of cores in use for the Pi 2, Pi 3 and Pi 4
- Choose from a set of "wildcard" current values to accommodate other add-ons and accessories
- Display some raw data for reference

The calculation presents a time range to give a reasonable estimation of the run-time assuming the battery is healthy.

The current consumption of the Pi and the options selected are based on real measurements and not merely plucked from a manufacturers datasheet. This makes a more sensible average rather than being a peak current draw which gives unhelpful estimates.

When available you may want to power the official Pi Screen from the same power bank so that is listed in the "Features" so you can calculate an estimated time with that hooked up as well. In order to keep the interface as simple as possible this is the only Pi accessory I have specifically included but the wildcard options should cover anything else you may want to use at the same time.

The app is designed to work best in Portrait mode.

This app does not contain any adverts but does contain some clearly described links to RaspberryPi-spy.co.uk and my social media channels. These are directly related to the Raspberry Pi.

"Raspberry Pi" is a trademark of the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
Updated on
Aug 22, 2019

Data safety

Developers can show information here about how their app collects and uses your data. Learn more about data safety
No information available

Ratings and reviews

4.5
68 reviews
Rob Conder
July 29, 2020
This is a great tool for those who like their Pi to-go; however, please be aware that it's not using real-time data and measurements to arrive at its estimation. The data was carefully tested and input by the developer. You select the flavor of Pi, pick your peripherals, and choose a type of battery. The app then performs calculations based on real-world performance and gives you a (so far) fairly accurate reading on how long you can expect your Pi rig to run off the portable power option.
1 person found this review helpful
Did you find this helpful?
Rusty Man
December 26, 2022
Informative app. Hope you add rechargeable coin cells as i use them with tiny ups logic board to detect power loose and auto turn off if running on coin cells.
Did you find this helpful?
Jesse Gudgeon
July 4, 2023
This is a great app, although it would be even better if you added lithium batteries and included a pico and pi zero 2w power estimator as well
Did you find this helpful?

What's new

v0.3.0 - Added Pi 4, Pi 3B+, Pi 3A+ and PP3 page
v0.2.4 - Add Pi 3, Pi Zero, AAA, weblinks and raw data options
v0.1.5 - Add Pi 2 options