Selecting an Inverter
Selecting an inverter is an important part in the process of upgrading
your home on wheels. Typically the kind and size of the devise you want
to purchase depends on the type of efficiency you desire, on how good
you want the quality of power to be, on whether you may need a surge power
to process heavy loads, safety features, and others.
The desired quality of power is an important consideration. It is a well
known fact that complicated quality inverters supply a quasi sine wave
that is almost ideal and compatible with just about every devise. However,
keep in mind, that most of your home appliances will most likely need
something simpler, like a square wave inverter, to supply for their electricity
needs. A square wave inverter, despite of being inexpensive, is also not
very energy efficient and has a number of limitations. It wastes a lot
of battery power just to sustain itself.
Another important consideration is inverter efficiency or how much electricity
an inverter needs to sustain itself. It is especially important when your
inverter is used on bigger devises (i.e., computer, printer, fridge, etc.)
that are typically in operation of a prolonged period of time. If you're
just going to run it for a few minutes, you don't care. The high efficiency
is considered to be 90 percent and above. Under these conditions, a devise
will only use a small fraction of an amp to idle and they can be left
running non stop for days. Visit Installing
an Inverter for suggestions.
Safety features is another very important factor while selecting an inverter.
Regardless of the size, quality inverters will share several characteristics.
One of them is remote switching which allows you to still be inside to
switch the inverter on and off. Another feature is low voltage warnings
to prompt you that it does not have a lot of operating time left. Among
other features are monitor lights and circuit breakers that will enable
you to switch the devise on and off to prevent the battery from draining.
Some inverters have an automatic switch feature that allows them to slow
down when the desired usage capacity is reached. Be careful not to plug
your inverter into a circuit that is already used to run several powered
devises.
If you want to have good quality inverters, don't look for them on the
discount racks. Serious dealers have a set range of prices for such a
quality product and will most likely start at the bottom of such a range.
Taking into consideration that inverters are not cheap, dealers typically
spend some time with the customers before they seal the deal. Many dealers
will also follow up with the customer to continue explaining the benefits
of the devise even after it has been purchased and installed. Respectable
dealers will often "sweeten" the deal a bit, though, by furnishing
extras, such as switches, battery connection cables, free UPS shipping
and the like.
As you can see, you need to spend some time and thinking before you settle
on the inverter that is suitable to your needs. Talk to a good dealer
about it and he or she will direct you accordingly. Utilize the information
resources available to you while selecting an inverter.
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