Marlec 12/24 Volt Inverters Explained

 

What is an Inverter and why would I want one?

An Inverter is a device that takes the power from your 12 Volt or 24 Volt DC battery and converts it to 230 Volt AC power to run your normal household appliances on. For instance you may want to run a T.V.and D.V.D. Player whilst at sea on your yacht.

How does an Inverter work?

An Inverter boosts your 12 Volt or 24 Volt DC power by “switching” it to create pulses of AC electricity. The "switching" is done by various electronic components such as mosfets. The frequency at which these operate the “switching” process determines how closely the electical current resembles mains AC.

What is the difference between a Pure Sinewave Inverter and a Modified Sinewave Inverter?

The end of the last answer is the key to this. A Pure Sinewave Inverter uses a greater frequency of “switching” along with filtering to achieve a very close approximation to mains AC electricity. The diagram shows what a pure sinewave should look like. Inverters achieve a similar shape in a series of small steps of on /off switches. Pure Sinewave Inverters achieve a greater match to this form than Modified Sinewave Inverters. Not surprisingly they are more expensive than Modified Sinewave Inverters.