Are you considering buying an inverter? If you are, then good for you! Power inverters are a huge help in many situations. They save you from the hassle of having to purchase DC appliances, which can cost you a huge amount of money, and allow you to use various electrical devices on the go. With these electronic devices, you can utilise the electricity generated by your car's battery to power up standard AC appliances and power tools.
Shopping for an inverter can be quite a challenge if you don't know anything about this electronic device. To ease your burdens and ensure that you'll make the right purchase, here are the common electrical terminologies you need to know about when shopping for pure sine wave inverters.
1. Watts. Most people misunderstood watt and power and use these two terms interchangeably. In a nutshell, watts are a measure of how much power a device uses when turned on or can supply/convert, as in the case of an inverter. Knowing the amount of power/watts you'll require will help you determine the size of inverter you'll need to purchase. For example, if your appliance draws 200 watts during start-up, a 600w inverter makes an excellent choice.
2. Watt-hours (or kilowatt hour, kWh). A watt-hour is basically the product of watts multiplied by how many hours that they are used for. This is what most people mean when they say "watts per day." For example, if a particular electronic device uses 100 watts and it is switched on for eight hours, then it has 800 watt-hours.
3. Amps. An amp is a measure of electrical current at the moment. Amps are a key factor when buying 12v and 24v inverters because they help you determine that wire size you'll need, especially on the DC side of the inverter. If your wire is too small for the amps, you'll get hot wires and voltage drops, which are usually not a good thing as it can lead to short-circuit and potential damage to both the inverter and the electrical appliance.
4. Amp-hours (AH). Amp hour is another key electrical terminology you need to understand when shopping for an inverter. It is computed by multiplying amps by the amount of time you need to use a particular device (AH x time). AH is very important as it is the main measure of batter ycapacity. Since most inverters run on batteries, knowing the AH capacity will help determine how long can you use your inverter with your car's battery.
When it comes to buying car inverters, it always pays more to know more. Meanwhile, if you're looking for reliable and top quality inverters, be sure to visit Elinz Electronics.