Types of Electrical Inverters

An inverter is an electrical device that is used to change direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC), which is the type of electrical energy in your home that comes from the power company. There are various types of inverters including pure sine wave, modified sine wave and square wave inverter.

1. Inverter Uses

   • Inverters are used for different purposes and the electricity, or energy, produced by the inverter is used to power various types of electronic equipment. Inverters can be used for household appliances such as televisions, computers, refrigerators, stereos and lighting, which all operate with AC electrical energy. Of the three types of inverters (pure sine inverters, modified sine and square sine inverters), pure sine inverters are used for most household appliances and provide a regular form of sine wave energy conversion unlike modified and square sine wave inverters.

   Pure Sine Inverter

   • A pure sine wave inverter, also known as a true sine wave inverter, uses sine waves, which oscillate regularly in order to produce electrical energy to power appliances. The sine wave inverter produces sine waves with AC machinery that rotates and creates the type of electrical wave that is usually produced by the utility company with the use of a generator. There are many benefits to using a pure sine inverter since all electronic equipment is designed to be used with sine waves. Additionally, some appliances such as light dimmers cannot work without the use of sine wave power and microwaves cannot operate at full output without sine wave power. Pure sine wave inverters are more expensive than other types of inverters.

   Modified Sine Inverter

   • A modified sine inverter differs from a pure sine inverter because it operates by creating step waves instead of regular oscillating waves. As a result of this, most appliances cannot work with this type of inverter because they require a regular energy output that cannot be produced using step waves. However, some appliances can operate with modified sine inverters though they require more power to run since the level of energy output from the inverter is irregular.

   Square Wave Inverter

   • Square wave inverters make electrical energy conversions using a series of waves that have a rectangular form. The signal from the inverter is very noisy and most appliances cannot function with electrical currents produced by a square wave inverter. The square wave inverter is one of the earliest types of inverters and, as such, the device is incompatible with most modern types of electrical equipment. Moreover, the power produced by this type of inverter can damage some electronic equipment that is sensitive to the square waves of electrical power.

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