Can you even think of living a day without having access to your smartphone? Well, for most people it is unthinkable. But sometimes things go wrong
The TV and computers are there for entertainment needs and there are millions of people who rely on their smartphones and consoles for getting the thrill of virtual gaming. Apart from the entertainment oriented gadgets, there are numerous appliances used in the kitchen. Can you think of living comfortably without using a refrigerator and microwave oven? The answer is no!
While the major cities have good power supply system, the same cannot be said about the suburbs and rural regions. The reality is your favorite gadgets and home appliances won’t run if there is no electricity. What do you do when there is long power cut or grid failure caused by a natural calamity? In such situations, you can use a home inverter to ensure some of your energy driven appliances can be run. Ideally, you should invest in a pure sine wave inverter to run your expensive gadgets and appliances in a safe way. These inverters supply a consistent current to your appliances, reducing risk of surge.
Pure Sine Wave Inverter-what is it?
Earlier, the square wave inverters were used in most households for running appliances during power outage. These are suited for running fans and lights but you cannot rely on these units for running expensive and advanced appliances like computers and LED TVs. A pure sine wave inverter transforms DC power to AC power in a smoother and better way compared to older square wave inverters. So, these inverters are ideal for running expensive and delicate appliances.
How Does A Pure Sine Inverter Perform?
The working mechanism of a pure sine wave inverter can be divided in 3 phases:
Oscillation
These inverters generate oscillating pulses and these run through transistor circuit, which is also called IC circuit. These oscillations create voltage peaks by means of alternate battery charge, using negative and positive poles. After the voltage peaks reach a certain frequency, the amplifier takes over.
Amplification
The oscillating pulses generated by the IC circuit are then boosted so that an elevated level of current can be achieved. This is a prerequisite for running various appliances at the setup. The inverter deploys the boosted voltage to secondary winding of output transformer.
Output Transformation
The Low-level AC power derived from the output transformer is made to pass through secondary windings. This ensures the voltage required to run the home appliances is generated.
Advantages Of Using Pure Sine Wave Inverters
No buzzing or humming noise
One issue with older square wave and modified sine wave inverters is the constant buzzing sound. When you run these inverters the appliances generate a noise that can be annoying. With pure sine wave models, the noise is almost nonexistent.
Safe and clean power
You do not want to reduce the longevity of your expensive appliances by running them on inverter power. When pure sine wave inverters are used, the appliances get supply of safe and clean power. There is little to zero harmonic distortion.
Running high voltage devices possible
With high-capacity pure sine wave inverters, you can run the high voltage devices without issues. Of course, you have to use a battery of high capacity. Running compatible refrigerators and air coolers is possible. This is not possible with square wave models.
Continuous power supply
When pure sine wave inverters are used, you can be assured of getting smooth and continuous supply of power. Until the battery is exhausted, you can run all appliances minus glitches and crashes.
What Are The Variants Of Sine Wave Inverters?
There are 2 types of sine wave inverters- modified sine wave and pure sine wave inverters.
Pure sine wave
The Pure sine wave inverters generate smooth and continuous waveform while converting DC to AC power. This ensures the appliances get constant and clean voltage. This is essential when you run costly appliances that can be damaged by voltage fluctuations.
Modified sine wave
The modified sine wave inverters also convert DC current to Ac but their output is not as smooth as the pure sine wave counter parts. These inverters generate power in choppy waveforms. It will not affect regular appliances like ceiling fan or led lights. However running computers and consoles on these inverters may not be advisable, as far as device longevity is concerned.
Main Features Of A Pure Sine Wave Inverter
Embedded safety features
It makes sense to invest in a pure sine wave inverter that comes with inbuilt safety mechanism. The common safety features found in these models include protection from short circuit, power surge, over voltage, etc. Some inverters come with additional safety fuse.
Power Outlets
Choose a sine wave inverter that lets you connect to several devices at the same time.
Warranty Coverage
The pure sine wave inverters are not exactly cheap. So, you should choose a model that is covered by long warranty. It is better that you opt for models with onsite warranty.
Indicators
Buy a pure sine wave inverter that comes with audio visual indicators for ease of usage. The advanced models also have LCD display units.
Other Aspects To Analyze
Power output
The pure sine wave inverters come in varying output capacity. Ensure you buy a model that generates enough output to meet your usage needs. The output capacity is denoted by VA.
Battery type
You also need to equip the pure sine wave inverter with a suitable battery. The battery capacity is denoted by AH. You have to think of the number of appliances you need to run and for how long. There are dry cell batteries and you also get batteries that require distilled water to run.
Remote Control
Some of the top end pure sine wave inverters can be operated remotely. You may even find a few WIFI enabled models that can be controlled by smartphone apps.
FAQs
- Do you actually need a pure sine wave inverter?
It depends on your usage needs, frankly. If you need to run fans and lights on inverter, a modified sine wave inverter will do. However, to run appliances like computers, TVs, mobile devices, printers nothing less than a pure sine wave inverter will do. - What is the toll on battery?
How fast the sine wave inverter will drain the battery depends mostly on 2 aspects. You have to check the battery capacity and the amount of load on the battery. Ideally, you should run the inverter at 75-80% of maximum permissible load. - Should the inverter be kept switched on 24×7?
Ideally, you should keep the inverter switched on. This will ensure the battery remains fully charged and you get maximum possible runtime. Unless the device is switched on, the linked devices will shut down as soon as the power goes off. However, it is prudent to leave the device switched off when you plan to go for a long vacation. - What is the average running time of an inverter?
Again, you have to check the load on the inverter and battery capacity. The solar hybrid inverters can run for very long time. Even if the main battery is exhausted, the solar panels supply additional energy to run the devices for many more hours.
