©
2013 Magnum Energy, Inc.
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Appendix C – Power Consumption and Output Waveforms
Appendix C – Power Consumption and Output Waveforms
C-1 Appliance Power Consumption
The MS-PE Series inverter/charger can power a wide range of household appliances including small
motors, hair dryers, clocks, and other electrical devices. As with any appliance using batteries for
power, there is a certain length of time that it can run—this is called “run time.” Actual run time
depends on several variables, including the size and the type of appliance, the type of batteries
installed in your application, as well as the battery’s capacity and age. Other factors such as the
battery’s state of charge and temperature can also affect the length of time your appliances can run.
Appliances such as TVs, VCRs, stereos, computers, coffee pots, incandescent lights, and toasters can
all be successfully powered by your inverter. Larger electrical appliances, however, such as stoves,
water heaters, etc., can quickly drain your batteries and are not recommended for this application.
All electrical appliances are rated by the amount of power they consume (see Table C-1). The
rating is printed on the product’s nameplate label, usually located on its chassis near the AC
power cord. Even though it is dif
fi
cult to calculate exactly how long an inverter will run a particular
appliance, the best advice is trial and error. Your MS-PE Series inverter has a built-in safeguard
that automatically protects your batteries from over-discharge.
Table C-1, Typical Appliance Power Consumption
Device
Load
Device
Load
Device
Load
Blender
400W
Coffee Maker
1200W
Light (Flo)
10W
Computer
300W
Color TV
150W
Microwave
1000W
Drill
500W
Hair Dryer
1000W
Light (Inc)
100W
Hot Plate
1800W
Iron
1000W
Refrigerator
500W
• Square Wave
– The simplest AC
waveform. Some types of equipment
behave strangely when powered
from a square wave inverter.
• Modifi ed Sine Wave
– Also referred
to as a “quasi sine wave”. This output
looks like a one-step staircase and
the waveform changes its width to
continually provide the correct RMS
output voltage regardless of the
battery voltage. Most loads that run
from a sine wave will also run from
a modi
fi
ed sine wave. However,
things such as clocks and furnace
controllers may have trouble.
• Sine
Wave
– An AC waveform that
looks like rolling waves on water. It
rises and falls smoothly with time.
The grid puts out a sine waveform.
Any plug-in AC equipment will
operate from a sine wave inverter.
Figure C-1, AC Waveforms
TIME
VOLTAGE
40
80
0
120
40
160
200
80
120
160
200
Modified
Sine Wave
Sine Wave
Square Wave
C-2 Inverter Output Waveforms
The inverter’s output waveform is the shape of the wave that alternating current makes as its
voltage rises and falls with time. Today’s inverters come in three basic output waveforms: square
wave, modi
fi
ed sine wave and pure sine wave.
