Home Inverter

Home inverter is to provide uninterruptible power to run household electric devices. These are available in different voltage and load capacities. In the basic design of the inverter a DC (battery) source is connected to a transformer through the centre tap of the primary winding. A switch is rapidly switched back and forth to allow current to flow back to the battery following two alternate paths through one end of the primary winding and then the other. The alternation of the direction of current in the primary winding of the transformer produces alternating current (AC) in the secondary circuit. This will be !" #$$" %olt AC and can operate all the electric devices.

Efficiency of Inverter
The &uality of the output wave form ( !" volt AC) from the inverter determines its efficiency. The &uality of the inverter output wave form is e'pressed using (ourier analysis data to calculate the )Total *armonic Distortion+ (T*D). T*D is the s&uare root of the sum of the s&uares of the harmonic voltage divided by the fundamental voltage. THD = V2 2 + V3 2 + V4 2............. Vn 2 / V1

Types of Inverters
,ased on the output waveforms- there are three types of Inverters. These are .ine wave- /odified .ine wave and .&uare wave inverters.

Sine wave inverter

Alternating current has continuously varying voltage- which swings from positive to negative. This has an advantage in power transmission over long distance. 0ower from the 1rid is carefully regulated to get a pure sine wave and also the sine wave radiate the least amount of radio power during long distance transmission. ,ut it is e'pensive to generate sine wave in an inverter. Its &uality is e'cellent and almost all electrical and electronic appliances work well in sine wave inverter. The sine wave is the AC waveform we get from the domestic lines and from the generator. The ma2or advantage of sine wave inverter is that all of the house hold appliances are designed to operate in sine wave AC. Another advantage is that the sine wave is a form of soft temporal rise voltage and it lacks harmonic oscillations which can cause unwanted counter forces on engines- interference on radio e&uipments and surge current on condensers.

Modified Sine wave or Quasi Sine wave

/odified sine wave is designed to simulate a sine wave since the generation of sine wave is e'pensive. This waveform consists of a (lat 0lateau of positive voltage- dropping abruptly to 3ero for a short period- then dropping again to a flat plateau of negative voltage. It then go back to 3ero again and returning to positive. This short pause at 3ero volts gives more power to 4" *3 fundamental fre&uency of AC than the simple s&uare wave.

Inverters providing modified sine wave can ade&uately power most house hold appliances. It is more economical but may present certain problems with appliances like microwave ovens- laser printers- digital clocks and some music systems. 556 of appliances run happily in modified sine wave. Instruments using .C7 (.ilicon Controlled 7ectifier) in the power

supply section behave badly with modified sine wave. The .C7 will consider the sharp corners of the sine wave as trashes and shut off the instrument. /any of the 8aser printers behave like this and fail to work in inverters and 90. providing modified sine wave power. /ost variable speed fans bu33 when used in modified sine wave inverters.

Square wave inverter

This is the simplest form of output wave available in the cheapest form of inverters. They can run simple appliances without problems but not much else.

Sine wave

Modified Sine wave

Square wave

.&uare wave voltage can be easily generated using a simple oscillator. :ith the help of a transformer- the generated s&uare wave voltage can be transformed into a value of !" volt AC or higher.

Ter s re!ated to "nverter

#att $#% :att is the measure of how much power a device uses when turned on or can supply. If a device uses $"" watts- it is simply the voltage times the ampere (rate of current).If the device takes $" Amps at $ %olt DC- it uses $ " watts power. That is $"A ' $ % ; $ " :. #att Hour $#H% A watt hour (or <ilo :att hour = k:h) is simply how many watt times- how many hours the device is used. If the device uses $"" watts for $" hours- it is $""" watt hour or $ k:h. The electricity tariff is based on k:h. & 'ere $&% It is the measure of electrical current at the moment. Amps are important to determine the wire si3e for connecting the inverter to the battery. 8ow gauge wire will heat up and burn if heavy current flows through it from the battery.

& 'ere Hour $&(% Amp>*our usually abbreviated as Ah is the Amps ' Time. Ah is the measure of battery capacity which determines the backup time of the inverter

Vo!t & 'ere $V&% It represents the ma'imum load capacity of the inverter. Commonly available inverters are 4"" A- ?"" %A- $""" %A$4"" %A etc.

)ower in "nverter )ea* 'ower and T+'i,a! or &vera-e 'ower

An inverter needs 0eak or .urge power and Typical or Average (9sual) power. 0eak power is the ma'imum power that an inverter can supply usually for short time. .ome heavy current appliances like motor and refrigerator re&uires a startup peak power than they re&uire when running. Typical power is the power that the inverter gives on a steady basis. This is usually much lower than the peak power. Typical power is useful in estimating the battery capacity. Therefore inverters must be+ si3ed+ for the ma'imum peak load and typical continuous power.

)ower .atin- of "nverter

Inverters are available in different ).i3e ratings+ from 4" %A up to 4"""" %A. Inverters larger than $$""" %A are seldom used in household applications. The first thing you have to consider about the inverter system is its ma'imum peak power or surge power and steady current supply. The surge rating is usually specified at so many watts for so many seconds. This means that the inverter will handle an over load of that many watts for a short time. This )surge capacity+ will vary considerably between inverters and even with in the same brand. 1enerally !>$4 seconds surge rating is enough to cover 556 of appliances. Inverters with lowest surge rating are the high speed electronic switching types.

/urrent ,onsu 'tion

Depends on the wattage of the appliances used- current consumption of the inverter can be calculated using the formula " = # / V :here I is the current in amps- : is the wattage of the appliance and % the $ volt (battery voltage). #att :attage of an instrument is calculated using the formula # = V 0 " :here % is the !" volt AC and I is the current consumption. :att rating is usually printed on the back side of the appliance near the power cord. V& It indicates the ).i3e+ (capacity) of the inverter. To select the inverter si3e- the given formula is useful V& = # 1 "nverter !oss. Inverter loss is typical around $.$4. If the total load connected to the inverter is @"" watts then the minimum inverter si3e should be @"" ' $.$4. That is @A" %A. A 4"" %A is suitable for the load. & 'ere Hour $&(% The capacity of the battery is represented in Ah. It is the amount of current a battery can give during one hour of charge # discharge cycle. *igh capacity batteries ($"" Ah- $4" Ah) are used to power inverters to get sufficient backup time. The formula to select the battery power (Ah) is 8oad in watts / Vo!ta-e of 2atter+ 1 3a,*u' (our.

(or e'ample if you wants to run @"" watts load on $ volt battery for ! hours- then the capacity of the battery should be minimum $"" Ah. &( = 444 / 12 1 3 = 144 &(. If the load increases (within the capacity of the inverter)- backup time reduces.

Se!e,tin- a 2est "nverter

,efore selecting the inverter- it important to calculate the total power consumption of the appliances that are going to be connected to the inverter. It is important to note that the power consumption (Current drain) increases when the driving voltage decreases. :hen the input voltage drops in the domestic supply lines from !" % AC to "" %AC- electric devices will consume more current. (or e'ample a load rated !"" :atts (like (ridge) operating in !" volts uses $.@ Amps in one hour. The same load takes $.4 Amps if the line voltage drops to "" volt during peak hours (Apm> 5 pm). .o it is advisable to switch off high current devices during peak hours. This conserves energy as well as reduces the electricity bill. If heavy loads are running in inverter- battery voltage diminishes from $!.4 volts to $ volts with in a short time. This reduces the backup time. .o it is better to connect only light loads such as fan- lights and T% to inverter lines.

/urrent ,onsu 'tion in Ho e a''!ian,es

The table given below shows the power rating of common home appliances.

&''!ian,e

)ower ratin-$ in #atts% Standard

/urrent ,onsu 'tion in 1 Hour $in & 's% "."!-"."@"-"."B?-".$4 ".$$-".$B-". A-".@! "."$-". ".$>".@ ".@>> $>$.@ @.4>$4 ".B> $.@> .? @>@.4 .A>A.4 "."@>".$$

Compact (luorescent 8amp ( C(8) ,ulb (luorescent 8amp (an T% (ridge *eater %acuum cleaner /i'i :ashing /achine /icrowave Cven Table (an

?-$$-$?-!4 4-@"-A"-$"" "-@" 4>?" ?">@"" "">!"" $""">!""" $4">@"" !"">A"" ?"">$""" A"">$4"" $"> 4

Computer 8aptop 8aser 0rinter Ink Det 0rinter Electric Iron D%D A#C $*0 :ater 0ump F *0 *air Dryer /usic system

?">$4" ">4" $""">$4"" 4>4" @4">$""" ">4" $""">$4"" 4"">$""" $ "">$4"" ">@"

$>$.! "."5>". @.!>A.4 ".$$>". >! "."5>". @.!>A.4 .$B>@.! 4. >A.4 "."5>".$B

)ower /a!,u!ation
,efore purchasing an Inverter- it is necessary to calculate the power re&uirements of the loads that are going to be connected. /id si3e inverter (4""%A to ?"" %A) will handle most of the low power household appliances. If you wish to use (ans- Tube lights and $ T%- the total power consumption will be around !?" :atts. 0ower loss in the inverter is estimated as $.$4. .o the Inverter capacity should be at least !?"'$.$4. That is @!B %A. The suitable available si3e is 4"" %A. Inverter rating is usually given in %A (%olt Ampere). The backup time of the inverter depends on the type and capacity of the battery used. ,attery capacity is represented in Ah (Ampere hour). To power the whole house (say !""" watts)- more planning is necessary. A 4 <%A inverter is necessary in this case. ,ut obviously not every appliance will be )CG+ at the same time. .o a high capacity inverter is a good choice because- if the load increases above the rated capacity of the inverter- it can lead to ha3ardous results. The following chart will guide you to calculate the Inverter load.

5oad ,a!,u!ation ,(art

&''!ian,e $. . !. Quantit+ #atts

Tota! 6o.................

Tota! #atts................

Tota! 5oad in #atts

3atter+ /a'a,it+ in &(

3a,*u' ti e required$ in Hours %

7or u!a 8 "nverter /a'a,it+

7or u!a 8 3atter+ /a'a,it+$ &(% Total watts ' ,attery voltage ' ,ackup hours re&uired

%A;: H $.$4 ;.............

"nverter............... V&

3atter+ 12 Vo!t ........&(

.e ar*s

If a @ %olt inverter with @ volt battery is used- backup time can be doubled. ,ut the cost of the inverter and battery will be high compared to a $ volt inverter and $ volt battery.

)ower !oss in "nverter and /urrent ,onsu 'tion durin- ,(ar-in-.

Go inverter can function efficiently. The working of the inverter depends on many factors like conducted load- battery efficiency and maintenance. During operation- inverter will heat up and the transformer will dissipate heat. .o some energy will be lost which reduces the efficiency. 0roper charging of the battery and its efficiency to hold charge are two very important aspects. Input voltage from the AC lines should be close to !" volts for proper charging of the battery. (ully charged battery will show $!.? volts. Inverter should switch on charging immediately when the battery voltage reduces to $ volts. Charging current depends on the time taken to complete the charging process and also the )charge condition+ of the battery. If the battery is discharged to ?"6 of its efficiency- it will take 4 to B Ampere current for charging during the first few hours. Then the current reduces to 4"" milli amperes or less. A fully charged battery will not take any current. /ost inverters have two mode charging>,oosts charging and Trickle charging. During boost charging- around 4 to B ampere current will utili3ed and during trickle charging only 4 to 4" milli ampere current will be utili3ed. D.Mo(an*u ar