Opting for an inverter for the house is easy and needed. You get power even during outages and so you can work without a break. One has to choose the accessories that go with the inverter with care.
Pick the inverter first
To choose the best inverter is easy. Type the words, “best buy inverter” into the search box. You get the list of the best inverters in the market. You can choose one from this. But, which one do you settle for? There are three types of inverters.
- Pure sine wave inverter
- Modified sine wave inverter
- Square wave inverter
When you buy the inverter for your home it is wise to invest in a battery and trolley as well. The first thing to do is to calculate the power needs depending on the electrical appliances in the house. Say, you have 5 tube lights, 3 fans, 4 LED bulbs, and one TV, you will need 5×40 (tube lights), 3 x80 (fans), 4×8 (LED bulbs), and 140 (TV). That is 712 watts in all. There is power factor to consider meaning you will have a power drop and you must make up for this. We use a power factor of 0.8, 712/0.8 = 890 watts. The rating of the inverter is in VA. The inverter in this range has a rating of 900 watts. So you can settle for the 900 VA inverter.
Calculate the power of the battery
Next, you need the batteries. To calculate this, you have to find the total power you need. Multiply the wattage of all the appliances with the time for which you need the backup. Say, you want a backup for 4 hours. Then, the power needed that will come from the battery is 900 x 4 = 3600 watt.hour and the usual voltage of the batteries is 12V. So, the battery size (given in Ah) is 3600/12 = 300 Ah. You will need two 150 Ah batteries available in the tubular type. Flat plate inverters have a bigger range of 50Ah – 200Ah. You will still need two batteries.
Next in the list of the things you need is the choice of batteries. When you do your inverter online shopping India, you must choose the right battery. How do you do this? For this, you must know the property of each battery. There are two main types of batteries:
- Flat plate battery
- Tubular battery
Tubular batteries have a better capacity because of the size of the positive plate that is 20-25% more than that of the flat plate battery. The life is also greater as much as 30-35% due to less positive plate shedding.
Comparison of the two batteries
The negative plate is the same for both the batteries. Construction of the Flat plate battery is more rugged meaning it will last longer and it does not get damaged fast. Also, the heat dissipation is good.
Tubular batteries have a better efficiency but they cost more. Also, they have a lower reserve of lead. Poor heat dissipation will cause these batteries to deteriorate fast. But, their performance in actual practice is good.
