Interesting Facts About Pure and Modified Wave Inverters
If you ever need access to electricity while in a remote place, having an inverter can be extremely useful and valuable piece of equipment. There are a couple of different types of inverters, but the two most popular ones you’ll come across when searching are pure and modified sine wave inverters. Both of these types have their own distinct advantages and disadvantages, with pure sine wave inverters being recommended as the superior option due to the fact that they provide consistent loads, which is of utmost importance when operating sensitive electronics that use AC motors and specific types of delicate equipment.
However, a modified wave inverter costs significantly less than a pure wave inverter, simply because the technology used to manufacture them costs far less. If you’re using simple equipment that can run just fine on a modified wave inverter, you might as well save the money and get one. This is especially true for newer modified wave inverters, and it’s extremely unlikely that they would damage your devices. But before you invest in one, check the characteristics of the load required for the equipment you want powered in order to determine whether a pure sine wave inverter is necessary, or a modified sine wave inverter will do the job just fine.
Both types of inverters take 12V of direct current from a battery and transform it into alternating current that you would normally get from a wall outlet in your business or home. In modified wave inverters, the polarity may shift abruptly from positive to negative, while pure wave inverters do it periodically, and in a more predictable manner. As aforementioned, some electronics don’t mind the abrupt shifts that modified wave inverters do, while others may get damaged or not work properly at all.
In order to determine whether the devices you want to be powered by a modified inverter would have issues running on one, you can follow this one simple rule: As long as the device uses a rectifier to transform AC into DC, you won’t have a problem. This means that even more sensitive electronics, like a laptop, can probably run fine on a modified inverter, however, some manufacturers suggest that it may result in a shortened operational lifespan.
Bottom line is, if you have the budget for a pure sine wave inverter, then by any means, go for one. However, if you are more limited, a quality modified sine wave inverter would probably do the job just fine, as long as the powered electronics it powers use a rectifier to transform AC into DC.
