Comes summertime, the heat and mercury levels start to rise.Are you not tired of waiting for the electricity to return every time there is a power cut in your area? The best way to get out of this situation would be to buy the best inverter for your home or office.
An inverter is a power backupdevice responsible for converting low voltage DC into standard household AC power to provide uninterrupted power supply to your home.
(Image Source- Luminous)
Listed down below are the basics that will help you in buying the best inverter for your home:
- Consider Your Power Consumption
Before buying an inverter for your home, it is always better to know the rough estimate of your total power consumption. Your power requirement refers to the total electricity needed to operate all the appliances that you wish to run during a power failure.
Determining the combined load expressed in watts that would be run using the inverter is of critical importance in purchasing an inverter of adequate size. The watts of power that will be drawn by every single appliance you will connect to your inverter can help decide the VA rating of your inverter. (Valium)
- Inverter v/s Battery Capacity
A battery’s capacity refers to the electricity it can store, while the inverter capacity is the amount of electricity it can serve at a time of a power failure. The battery capacity is measure by Ampere hours (Ah) while the inverter capacity is measure in Volt Ampere (VA) rating.
There are three types of batteries available:
- Flat Plate Batteries
- Tubular Plate Batteries
- Sealed Maintenance Free (SMF) Batteries
Choosing the Ideal Battery
The battery capacity, which is calculated in ampere-hours, can be based on the power backup timerequired by all your appliances. There is a simple calculation that can help you in picking the right batteries for your best inverter.
Battery Capacity= Power needed in Watts*Backup time/Battery Voltage.
If you plan to run 3 fans (75 W each) , 3 tube lights (20 W each) , 1 CFL (15 Watt), and television (120 W) for 4 hours straight during a power cut. Based on this formula, you would need a 140Ah battery.
- Determining the VA Rating of the Inverter
The inverter capacityis measured in Volt Amperesand is directly proportional to the total load you are looking to support with it. The exact value of the inverter capacity can be found by dividing the total load to be supported by the power factor (0.7). Therefore, VA rating of inverter is equal to Total load to be run in watts from step 1 divided by 0.7.
- Making a Choice Between Sine Wave Inverter and Square Wave Inverter
While choosing the best inverter for your home, you have two options, namely Sine Wave Inverter and Square Wave Inverter.
- Sine Wave Inverter-The output waveform is a sine wave for this inverter. One of the major benefits of this inverter is that all the appliances use a sine wave inverter. It ensures that the equipment will function properly.
- Square Wave Inverter- It is a type of inverter where the output waveform is a square wave. The cost of the square wave is lower than sine wave.
It is advisable to purchase a sine wave inverter, it is safe for the appliances.
- Checking the Wiring at Home
One of the important things to do before buying an inverter is to check if your home wiring is compatible with the inverter you are buying. It is always a good idea to consult your technician and determine if your home is compatible with the inverter you plan to buy.
An inverter is an excellent investment to keep your entire family comfortable during a power outage situation. You can search online and get the best inverter for your home from reputable brands like Luminous. They offer some of the best inverters for different kinds of batteries. You can refer to their inverter buying guide, which will help you buy the one that satisfies all your power requirements.
