So you want to know how a power inverter works?
As with many modern electronics, they can be quite complicated devices.
Happily, you don’t need to know exactly how they work in order to use an inverter.
If you just want to converter DC to AC then you can hook up your inverter and start powering your devices. You might find the following guides helpful if you just want to use a power inverter.
Keen to find out more about exactly how an inverter converts DC to AC then keep reading.
I’ve put together this guide for the simplest ever explanation. We’ll talk about the differences between Direct Current (DC) and Alternating Current (AC). Plus how to switch between these two types of electricity.
How Do Inverters Work?
So inverters work by converting DC electricity to AC electricity.
Basically, the energy stored in batteries is DC power but appliances require AC power.
If you imagine electrons flowing through a wire similar to water flowing around a lazy river.
With Direct Current the electrons flow in one direction around the circuit, straight from point A to point B. Alternating current is when the electrons continually flow one way and then the other. A bit like water flowing one way and then the other.
With AC the electrons change the direction of flow very quickly, dozens of times a second. This frequent change in direction (frequency) is what appliances need to run. In the USA this frequency is 60 times a second.
The annoying thing is that you can’t store AC in a battery, you can only store DC. So you need to connect an inverter to a battery to make this conversion of electricity.
How Does an Inverter Convert from DC to AC?
Well, the basic way is to use switches. Placing switches in the circuit allow you to change where the electrons flow to get them to change direction. This is a little bit like changing trains from one track to another to alter where a train goes.
By operating these electronic switches (known as transistors) very quickly you can change whether the electrons flow in a positive or negative direction. This is how the current becomes alternated.
The electrons flow from negative to positive and when you move the switch they then flow from positive to negative. And this can be done dozens of times a second. When plotted on a graph, it looks like a wave.
Unfortunately, this is still quite a basic way of alternating the current as these switches create a very sudden change in the current direction. This creates a square wave which is not very good for sensitive modern electronics. You can buy these types of inverters, they are called modified sine wave inverters.
More expensive modern inverters deliver a current called a pure sine wave. This is where the alternation of electrons smoothly changes from positive to negative. They actually create a smooth wave by slowing down and speeding up as they change direction. This avoids sudden changes in electricity.
In a pure sine wave inverter, the alternating current is created with the addition of an oscillator. An oscillator is a microchip that produces ‘alternating waveform without any input’. This enables the inverter to create a smoother waveform needed for modern electronics.
Increasing the Voltage
Once the conversion to alternating current the voltage needs to be adjusted. Voltage is the force of current. Imagine voltage like water pressure in a hose. A smaller hose with more water means higher pressure, this is similar to voltage and electrons in a wire.
The DC power in a battery usually has a voltage of 12V or 24V but standard electricity in the USA uses 120V. So included in an inverter is a transformer that corrects this voltage. You can read more about how a transformer works here.
How to Use an Inverter
Using an inverter is very easy once you’ve got it connected to your battery supply.
You can easily switch it on and plug appliances in just like you would to a wall plug at home. Modern products allow you to simply plug into AC outlets or USB ports.
Just be sure to monitor how long the battery will last. Plus don’t draw more watts than your inverter can handle.
Final Words on How Do Inverters Work?
I hope you have a better understanding of how power inverters work.
In this article, I have tried to break it down into the simplest explanation possible.
Of course, you can get a lot more technical about all the individual components but this would be like reading a foreign language to most of us.
To be honest, like most things like you don’t need to understand how an inverter works to use one.
In fact, it’s like most electronics, once wired up correctly you can switch it on and use it.
