How to Choose the Right Inverter for your Car or Boat?

2017-09-04 Power Inverter Knowledge

When operating below recommendation, the electrical system is far fr om efficient and can prove troublesome.

Consider this example and accompanying formula.

If you are going to plug-in two devices simultaneously, add up the total wattage of both devices, and then add at least 50% more to account for peaks or spikes in the power draw.

(1) Monitor 100 watts

(2) Portable lights 100 watts

Recommended size of inverter:

200 watts (100 watts + 100 watts) + 100 watts (50% X 200 watts) = 300 watts

Obviously if you know for sure that two loads are never going to run at the same time, your calculation can include the higher draw load exclusively.

Approximate power requirements for commonly used electronics:

It is not directly related to inverter sizing, however you must take into account the type of electronics and appliances you want to run using the inverter.

Let me briefly explain the two types of inverters. You could refer to our previous article “Pure Sine Wave v/s Modified Sine Wave: Which is better?”.

Pure Sine Wave Inverters produce AC power that is similar to power available fr om the public utility grid system. They are expensive compared to modified sine wave inverters, but they produce quality output that operates the most sensitive and sophisticated electronics.

Modified Sine Wave Inverters produce AC power that is sufficient to run most electronics.

However, the laser printer, fax machine, laptop, plasma television set and medical equipment may not run properly with modified sine wave power.