How to choose an inverter

When choosing an inverter you ill have to decide on the following:

Output produced by the inverter.

Your utility power provides/ produces a “Sine Wave” form. It is therefore important that your inverter also produce the same waveform. Unless the inverter produces a “PURE SINE WAVE” it will have long term negative effects on your sensitive appliances. All our Microtek inverters have a PURE “SINE WAVE” output.

Size of inverter needed

The inverter size (600Va, 800Va, 1400Va, 3KVa, 5.5KVa) will determines "what appliances / how much" you can power.

In choosing the right inverter size, find out how much wattage is required to run your equipment. Most appliances have their wattage stamped on a back panel or listed in the owner’s manual. If your appliance only shows the AMPS, use this simple calculation:

230 volts x Amps = Watts.

Also check if the inverter’s surge rating meets your requirements i.e. motor, TV’s and some other appliances often require three to four times more wattage at start up.

Here consideration should be given to “what you will be running at any given time”. Although the inverter can be connected to a lot of items, you may only be running a few items at a time. (eg. Inverter connected to computer and TV, but you would only use one item at any given time.) Thus, your load will be relatively low. It may not be necessary to have an inverter to “run everything”, but rather “what you would use at one time”.

Which inverter with which batteries

The battery size (100 Amp/Hr (AH), 105AH, 165AH, 200AH) determines how long the inverter will run during a power outage.

Inverter

600va 1 battery system (12V) (100AH to 165AH)

800va 1 battery system (12V) (100AH to 165AH)

1400Va 2 battery system (24V) (165AH to 200AH)

3Kva 4 battery system (48V) (165AH to 200AH)

5.5Kva 8 battery system (96V) (165AH to 200AH)

It should be noted that the backup times will vary according to the batteries you choose. We do not recommend using bigger batteries than stated above as the inverter will not be able to fully charge batteries not within specifications. (e.g. 800Va inverter with 200AH battery). Using smaller batteries do not affect the inverter performance, but do affect backup time.