Choose right inverter for home during power cuts

Power cuts are a very common feature is many parts of India. Glaring gap between supply and demand is increasing power cuts by every passing day. More and more people are looking for solutions to manage their homes during power cuts and power inverters are becoming popular. Although they are of great help during power cuts but if not chosen or installed or maintained properly, they can cause a significant hole in your electricity bills. The inefficiency can cause you to pay much more for the same amount of electricity during the power cuts. With this article we will try to help you understand the impact of an inverter on electricity bills and how to choose a right inverter.

What are inverters and how do they work

Inverters (as we know them) are a form of power backup which has 3 units: 1) A charger 2) A battery and 3) An inverter (as it is truly called). The charger is connected to the power supply and it charges the battery when the electricity is coming from the utility. Inverter, a device that converts Direct Current (DC) to Alternating Current (AC) gets activated when electricity from the utility goes off, and as the inverter is connected to the power point, it starts providing electricity to the house.

Efficiencies in Inverters

There are 2 cycles in inverters where efficiencies have to be considered:

1. Charging: During charging the efficiencies depend on the battery efficiency. A lead acid battery that is typically used in inverters is not 100% efficient. When the battery is half charged or less the efficiency may be over 90% that can drop to 60% when the battery is above 80% charged. It is very important to maintain the batteries regularly so that the efficiency levels remain good.

It is also important to choose the right kind of batteries so that the efficiencies are good. It is better to buy a branded battery as local made batteries do not have good efficiencies. Local made batteries may be cheap but the inefficiencies can cause a lot of expenses in electricity. There are 3 types of batteries available in the market:

1) Flat Plate Batteries

2) Tubular Batteries

3) Maintenance Free Batteries.

Of these 3 Flat Plate Batteries are cheapest, but the battery life is less and maintenance required is high. Maintenance Free batteries have medium life span but the maintenance is low and cost high. Tubular batteries have long life, medium maintenance and high cost.

Do not use car batteries for inverters, as they are not suited for the kind of requirements at home

Conversion from DC to AC by inverter: Efficiency of inverters vary from 90% when it is being used at peak load to just over 50% when very less power is used . Inverter draws power from batteries even when no power is being used. Thus the efficiencies are very low when low power is drawn from it. Thus it is very important to size the inverter properly. You should look at the load in your house before buying an inverter. Typical load of inverters is mentioned in VA (Volt-Ampere) which is roughly equal to Watts (W) (assuming power factor of appliances is 1). So to calculate load required, just sum up the wattage of appliances you want to run on inverter.

There are 2 types of inverters available in market: 1) Modified Sine Wave and 2) Pure Sine Wave inverters. Modified Sine Wave inverters are cheaper but less efficient. They can work with majority of low-end appliances but they produce a buzz sound. Electricity is wasted in form of heat through this kind of inverters. These are also not good for health of some sensitive electronic appliances. Pure Sine Wave inverters are expensive but the most efficient types of inverters. These types of inverters are necessary to run high-end appliances like audio systems and video game consoles. They produce the same kind of power as supplied by the utilities and thus are the best in terms of efficiency and usage.

An inverter can be very useful during power outages and can provide a lot of relief. But it can be a huge drain of electricity if right one is not chosen or is not maintained properly. Make sure that you keep operational costs (cost of using inverter) in mind before you buy a new one.