What Does an Inverter Do: Many of us might have heard of power inverters but have almost no idea about how they work or what they can do. If you are also someone who has a little knowledge about it, this article can be really useful for you.
Power inverters are considered as one of the user equipment in the current world. We can use it at our houses, offices, stores, commercial areas, and so on.
They ensure the undivided functions of our necessary appliances even in the absence of a regular power supply. So, we can call them a back-power unit that shows its magic during emergencies.
Today, we are gonna specifically get what does an inverter does along with a brief overview of its working process. Besides, you will know what to consider while buying an inverter for your home, office, or other uses. So, let’s not exaggerate and jump into our main discussion.
What is an Inverter?
As opposed to converters, inverters transform DC (Direct Current) voltage to AC (Alternating Current) voltage. So, we can take them as an electronic device that keeps our necessary electronic equipment running by converting the DC voltage to the AC voltage when there is a power cut.
Many of us often confuse them with generators. But in reality, they can’t produce current like generators. Rather, they work as a transformer or converter whose main duty is to change one type of electrical power into another. So, they’ve also termed a static device due to this very nature.
For an inverter, its battery might be the heart that supplies DC power to pursue its further actions. Anyways, the size and design of an inverter are a large contributor to its overall performance.
How Does it Work?
You have just gone through a brief over inverters. Now, it’s your turn to get an overview of how it works.
You might know that most of our home appliances such as televisions, refrigerators, bulbs, computers, etc. are run on DC power. Hence, we need to convert DC power deposited in the battery or solar panel into AC power to use that equipment. In that case, an inverter or power inverter works as a magical tool.
A power inverter usually looks like a rectangular box, features two DC terminals (red & black) in its astern part and AC electrical outlets in the front arena. These terminals help the device to absorb DC voltage from any power source such as batteries, solar panels, etc.
After that, the inverter changes that DC voltage into AC voltage which, in turn, flows through the outlets towards all the active electrical appliances.
What Does an Inverter Do?
Inverters can serve us in a lot of ways. Here we have listed down some of their most obvious usages. Let’s have a look at them and enrich our knowledge about power inverters.
- Transforming DC voltage into AC voltage.
- Maintaining uninterrupted power supply in our homes. Offices, and other places.
- Working as a supplement of our mainstream power supply.
- A significant part of our UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) system.
- Can be used as a connector of two asynchronous AC systems.
- Makes solar power usable by converting its DC voltage to AC voltage.
- Helps in induction heating by the low-frequency AC to a higher one.
What to Consider While Buying an Inverter?
When you are ready to buy an inverter for your home or office, there comes another step that should pass to a top-class inverter. We can address it as “learning to buy”. That means you have to learn first what to consider while buying an inverter and then land into the market.
Today, we have come up with a complete buying guide that will help you find a quality inverter. Let’s check it out carefully to get the outlook of an expert buyer.
(1) Power Requirements
Before buying a power inverter, you have to determine how much power you are gonna consume while using this inverter. This is because you can’t use all of your devices on a single inverter, unlike generators. Rather, you have to select some equipment that you need to use throughout the day.
To pursue this assignment, take a pen and notebook, list down your most-used devices along with an estimation of the power consumption rate of those devices. This measurement will help you select an inverter that can fulfill your power requirements. Besides, it’ll help to set a size and VR rating to make your decision easier.
(2) Tiny but Significant Difference between UPS and Inverters
Although UPS and inverters do the same job which is converting the DC power into AC to keep the devices running after the power cut, there is a notable difference between them.
While using a UPS, you won’t experience any time lag between the power cut and power back of your devices when the electricity goes out. But on power inverters, you’ll face that problem. Anyways, the support you’ll get from the UPS sustains only a few minutes but enough for turning on a backup power system.
If you use sensitive equipment like computers, modems, routers, printers, etc., you can go for home UPS. Home UPS can give the privilege of both UPS and inverter. Thus, you can save money from buying from two different devices.
(3) Find the Appliances Can Not be Powered by an Inverter
For the sake of science, we have a lot of appliances and they need different amounts of currents. And there is some equipment like refrigerators and air conditioners that need a huge power supply. So, you have to have large inverters with high VA values to cater to such heavy-current-drawing devices. Always keep in mind the capacity of your inverter.
Besides, make sure you know which devices can’t be powered by an inverter.
(4) Warranty
Like any other electrical equipment, inverters are not 100% efficient at their jobs. So, you have to take the necessary steps for their maintenance whenever they stop working. In that case, a warranty can curtain your maintenance cost significantly. So, you can search for an inverter that comes with a warranty.
(5) Cost of the Inverter
To purchase anything, we must have sufficient funds. So, make a budget for the inverter considering all other related things. And when you reach out to the market, make sure your budget can cover the cost of your preferred inverter.
Final Verdict
You have just gone through a complete discussion over the various aspects of inverters. You have learned how an inverter works and what functions it performs to serve our everyday requirements.
Also, you have a good idea of how you can guide your buying decisions pretty efficiently during the purchase of an inverter. Now, it will be a lot easier for you to purchase a good inverter and use it purposefully.
Anyways, you can learn more about inverters by navigating more of our articles on this topic. Never stop researching and knowing more.
Writer: Nayeema Akter
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