When talking about mobile power solutions while attending mobile power-esque parties (oh, yeah, we’re a lively bunch), someone always tries to make the correlation between an inverter and a generator. When chatting with the average lay-person, even I am guilty of explaining an inverter as “a generator that uses the battery as its fuel tank”. This is a bit inaccurate since they have very different roles and benefits.
The heavyweight Generator!
One of the major drawbacks of a generator is they can be terribly inefficient and waste a lot of fuel if they’re not used at full (or at least heavy) load for a long period of time.
Generators can unnecessarily pollute the environment for a small benefit. For example, if you have a 7kW generator powering your 700W TV/DVD/Surround system, you waste fuel running that big engine for little benefit.
The lightweight Inverter!!
Also, for their weight, inverters tend to surge very well (typically twice their rated constant power output) compared to their fuel-based nemesis. And the winner is? Everybody loves a winner. However, in the classic Generator/Inverter battle, there is no clear-cut champ. I know, I know, where’s the chair-slapping, pile-driving finale that conclusively denotes the winner?
Sure if there was a significant investment in solar panels, an inverter could easily take the place of a generator. This would require a huge initial cost, but the long-term cost of ownership would be less with a solar/battery/inverter system than a generator. While sunshine is free when it’s available, you can’t purchase it from a friendly neighborhood convenience store like fossil fuels.
kilowatt hours.
There’s no tie in a grudge match!!
Ultimately, your system becomes the winner if you do it right. Generators are available from the small 1000W gas/electric to 15kW diesels (sure they get bigger, but the huge units are part of a completely different discussion). Inverters come from 100W “pocket” inverters to 600W in the portable scope, and 600W to 3000W in hard-wired configurations.
With some models you can even stack similar inverters to get up to 6000W. If you do your homework right including a lot of math and planning, you can partner a good inverter with a small generator and reap the benefits of a light-weight, highly efficient, usable system that makes you, your chassis, and mother earth very happy.