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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. What is an inverter?
A. Inverters are designed for powering household appliances from a battery or vehicle. They are
electronic devices that convert (12VDC) battery power to (230/240VAC) mains power.
Inverters are compact and often lightweight making them an ideal source of portable mains
power. Thanks to their portability they are commonly used in cars, caravans, motor homes, boats,
4WD’s and utility vehicles.
Using an inverter with standard household appliances is a much cheaper option than purchasing
specialised 12V appliances for times when power is not available.
There are two different types of inverters, modified sine wave and true sine wave. The difference
between the two is how close the output replicates mains power.
These graphs show the difference in output between mains power, modified sine wave and true
sine wave inverters.
Logically it follows that the process used in a true sine wave inverter is more complex than a
modified sine wave inverter and subsequently they are lot more expensive.
In reality most electric appliances operate unaffected on a modified sine wave and hence they
are more common.
True sine wave inverters are reserved for use on medical equipment and sensitive electrical
appliances.
Inverters are available with different power output levels to suit the type of appliances to be
powered. Small inverters are designed for powering one small low power electrical or electronic
appliance. Larger inverters can be used to power multiple small appliances or one larger
appliance. Typically inverters are not an efficient method for running appliances with very high
power requirements such as electric heaters, stoves, kettles and air conditioners. This is due to
their high current draw and battery consumption.
