How to Buy a Power Inverter

6 points you need to know to choose the right power inverter.

1. power inverter function

A. DC to AC power inverter: the most common type of power inverter. As long as you have a battery, you can convert DC to AC, usually 120VAC in Japan, South America and North America, 230VAC in Europe and Asia, and 240VAC in Australia. Usually this type of power inverter is used in off-grid solar solar system, and the battery charging is only comes from solar panel.

B. Power inverter charger: Add AC charging function to the DC to AC power inverter, which is a common type of inverter in some backup power systems. When the mains power is connected, it will be dircetly used by load and the battery will be charged at same time.When the mains power fails, it will automatically switch to battery power supply.

C. Power bypass inverter: Reduce the charging module in the inverter charger and keep the bypass module (also called ATS). This type of inverter has an automatic switching function between the mains and the inverter, but it does not have the charging function. The battery can be charged from solar panel or other devices, which is automatic and  flexible.

2. DC input voltage: Common DC input voltage in the market are 12Vdc, 24Vdc and 48Vdc.

12Vdc: We can simply understand that if you only have one battery, it is 12Vdc, which is convenient for you to upgrade the battery in the future. If you don't have enough budget for the time being, but plan to increase the capacity in the future, then you can choose 12Vdc. You only need to connect batteries of the same voltage in parallel to this system, and you don't need to change other devices.

24Vdc: It is equivalent to two batteries in series to make the voltage reach 24Vdc (12Vdc+12Vdc). If you want to increase the capacity, you need to add at least one set, that is, two batteries. The advantage of 24Vdc is that the conversion efficiency will be higher than 12Vdc. After our test, it can increase the conversion efficiency by about 4%.

48Vdc: It is equivalent to four batteries in series to make the voltage reach 48Vdc(12Vdc+12Vdc+12Vdc+12Vdc). If you want to increase the capacity, you need to add at least four batteries. Compared with 12Vdc, 48Vdc will increase the inverter's conversion efficiency by at least 6%.

If you use it in off-grid solar system, it is recommended that you use a high voltage, because the MPPT solar charge controller on the market now support 12Vdc/24Vdc/48Vdc automatic adaptation. If you choose a higher voltage, the input capacity of the supported solar panel will also increase. For example, 40Amp MPPT solar charge controller supports about 600W solar panel at 12Vdc, 24Vdc can support 1200W solar panel, 48Vdc can support 2400W solar panel. It will be beneficial for future solar system expansion.

3. Output voltage: Japan's output voltage is 100Vac, South America and North America are mostly 120Vac, of course some also support 217Vac. Europe is mostly 230Vac, most Asian countries are 220Vac, and Australia is 240Vac.

4. Output frequency: South America and North America is mostly 60HZ, Japan is 50HZ and 60HZ, Europe is mostly 50HZ, and Asia is basically 50HZ, do not rule out some special scenes, according to your local frequency situation to decide whether it is 50HZ or 60HZ. This is a parameters that are easier to ignore, if the output frequency does not match, it will cause load failure.

5. Continuous power: refers to the maximum power output taht your inverter can withstand for a long time. Choose the correct power according to your load. If yu don't know how to choose, please refer to 《Best inverter and battery combination for home》
Peak power: refers to the maximum power output that the inverter can withstand in a short time (usually 10ms). The general high frequency inverter is twice the continuous power, and the low frequency inverter is 3 times the continuous power. CNBOU's BPlus series high frequency inverter supports 3 times the continuous power, which would be the best choice.

6. Output sockets: Different countries have different socket type, which must be determined before purchasing. To prevent the socket from mismatching your load equioment.

We describe 6 key points in detail to help you choose right power inverter, hope it will be helpful.