How To Choose an Inverter For Home?
What is an inverter used for?
Inverters are widely used for power conversion. Most of our household appliances are powered by alternating current.
How many types of inverters are there?
1. Pure sine wave inverter
Generates a unique sine wave, just like the electricity supplied by a wall outlet, ensuring smoother and more efficient operation of home appliances.
2. Modified sine wave inverter
The waveform created is more like a square wave than the arc of a pure sinusoidal inverter.
What are the factors to consider when choosing an inverter?
1. Measure your home electricity usage
Choosing the best sine wave inverter depends on its intended use.
If your appliances include the following items, you'd better use a pure sine wave inverter.
- With motor
- Audio or video equipment
- Medical devices
- Others with capacitive load
2. Check the necessary inverter power
Having decided on the type of inverter, now make a list of the electrical appliances in your home such as TV, washing machine, refrigerator, lights and everything else that you want to run with an inverter.
All these powers are measured and summed. Sometimes, the inverter can output several appliances at the same time. If the inverter has LED or LCD screen, it can display many information such as load power, battery voltage to remind the user .
Generally, inverters between 1000-2000w are widely used in homes. It can run all lights, TVs, fans, etc., and even has enough power to drive some appliances, such as refrigerators and air conditioners.
You can choose according to actual needs:
If the inverter is for emergency use, 1kw inverter is enough to run regular equipment.
But if you are interested in a solar house, you'd better choose a 5kva inverter or a hybrid inverter, which integrates charger, solar charging functions, and can power your whole house.
3. Choose the right battery
The inverter is powered by the battery, and the battery determines the function of the inverter and the power supply of the device.
Determine the total power demand during an outage and calculate the running time of the inverter. Multiplying the two gives you the total power requirement, since a basic inverter has a capacity of 12V, so divide that number by 12, then that number is your battery capacity, always in Ah.
4. Consider cost
Pure sine wave inverters are usually the most expensive. While modified sine wave inverters are usually the cheapest sine wave inverters available, most devices will still work fine with modified sine wave inverters.
Summarize
If your equipment requires pure sine wave power to operate, you should choose a pure sine wave inverter without hesitation. Check the manufacturer's guide, especially for laptops, for details.