New to power inverter? we’ll walk you through everything you need to know, from what it’s a power inverter, how it works, and other helpful tips for getting the most out of your power inverter!
What is a Power Inverter?
the Power Inverter converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC), allowing you to power the daily appliances like air conditioner, refrigerator, microwaves, Cooking appliances, Car Vaccummer by getting the 12V or 24V DC in the battery into 115V AC, Power Inverter get DC source from Solar Battery or Car batteries, it’s widely applied in household off grid system and vehicles.
How does the Power Inverter Works?
The power inverter circuit completes the conversion from DC to AC, and the filter circuit filtered out the unwanted signals.
The work of the inverter can refine to 3 steps: first, the oscillation circuit converts the DC power into AC power. secondly, the coil boost changes the irregular AC power into square wave AC power. finally, the rectification circuit changes the AC power into sinusoidal via square wave.
After all, you can use the AC power to operate all kinds of devices.
10 tips to use the power inverter safety and efficiently.
Size the Right inverter power
before purchase the power inverter, you must noticed that it named by watts rates, like 300W,500W,1000W. that is the maximum power the inverter able to output.
the inverter power must greater than the top power appliance you have, or you need to add the electrical power of most used appliances to make sure it’s in the range of inverter power.
to avoid burning of the inverter, appliance has high starting power like air conditioner, the power must under the inverter power a lot.
for vehicles, Most models of power inverter, which are under 400 W, it widely use to power the Fan, car refrigerator, small TV, MP3, small audio, car vacuum cleaner, Air purifier, car electric cup, electric mosquito incense and car electric blanket.
Size the Right inverter Voltage
to pick a power inverter, the inverter voltage must match to voltage of the battery bank, for the safety and lifespan of the batteries. if you have a 12 volt battery bank, you should use a 12 volt inverter.
almost all the Small off grid system and vehicle system is 12 volt, when you want to use it in RVs,Motorhomes,Vans and Camper trailers, 12 Volt power inverter will be best fit.
Avoid Reverse Polarity
even though reverse polarity protection is a based function for most power inverters, human hurts may occur during the bad connection, keep in mind the Positive and negative poles must be connected correctly to corresponding ones.
simply connect + to +, – to – as marked on each side.
Wire Size
the user manual will told you which size cable is suit for the power inverter, the cable is usually rated by AWG like 2 AWG,4 AWG, 6 AWG and 8 AWG. The bigger the AWG number, the smaller the cable size.
The principle is take the cable as thick as possible, and install inverter to battery as close as possible.
Install inverter in Dry Place
The inverter should installed in a place that is ventilated, dry and has no watering issues.
The inverter should have a distance of 8 inch/ 20cm or more from other objects.
keep the inverter away from flammable and explosive materials, nothing should be placed on the inverter, and the inverter should not be covered by anything.
The ambient temperature should not greater than 104℉ / 40℃.
Keep the Power Inverter Dry
Keep the Inverter Dry and Clean by anti-static cloth or dry cloth.
Don’t forget Grounding
Grounding the power inverter before operation.
Don’t Open the Inverter
Keep the inverter intact before and during its operation, open the shell is extra forbidden.
Dont Charge when using the inverter
At the time you power a appliance/device with inverter, do not charge the appliance/device. damage may occur if not follow this.
Restart Waiting Time
Shut off the power inverter and wait for 5 Seconds at least for next start.
Stop Use Inverter When Malfunctioning
If you think the machine is malfunctioning, please do not continue to operate and use the inverter, Shut off the power inverter and cut off the input and output.
Slight faults can be fixed referring to the manual, while serious faults required qualified personnel or return to the factory.
No Metal on hand while wiring
When connecting to the battery, make sure no metals in the hands, otherwise the battery will short-circuit and cause burns to human body.
Installation Conditions
When you hook the inverter, the install environment required as follow:
keep Dry: key the install place dry, no water, no rain issue.
keep Cool: the temperature must below 104℉
keep ventilate: No stuff on the surface of inverter, the inverter sides must ventiates as well.
Dust: No not use the power inverter in dusty.
Cables: No overlong cable used, wire the battery and inverter in distance.
Battery and Battery Packs: Do not expose the battery, the gas produced by battery may corrosion the inverter in long runs.
Ground: ground the inverter by ground port with cable before uses to avoid damages.
Safety
Keep the inverter in a fix place, keep it steady and not prone to overturn.
Do not touch the inverter output port, human body damage may occur.
Do not change the FUSE without user manual instruction.
Inverter Cooing
Choose an inverter with a fan and good cooling design
Are You Getting the Most From Power Inverter?
While most of us use power inverter every day, it’s often easy to overlook how powerful the tool is. Hopefully, by using some of these tips, how to use power inverter will be a forgotten question, you’ll be able to get the most out of inverter.