Do you need an inverter

Having gone through the load estimation in the previous posts, I want to continue with the alternatives.
I start with an indepth treament of the Power Inverter and will be showcasing available product types

What is an inverter?
An inverter is a device that takes the power from your DC battery source and through certain electronic circuitsconverts it to household AC electricity providing you the power to run appliances such as televisions, lights, computers, and power tools wherever you may be. Simply, an inverterboosts your 12/24/48 volt battery power to 110/240 AC power.

Mode of operation
An inverter boosts your DC power 10 to 20 times by switching the power to create pulses of electricity in AC. This switching process is generally done by high frequency electronic components called power mosfets.
There are two forms of electric wave output generated by an inverter, pure or true sine wave and modified sine wave viz PureSine and Modified sine wave

Pure Sine wave is the same as the power you have in your home. It is very clean and is the best for performance.This smooth pure sine wave is most efficient. Therefore, appliances such as TVs, computers and stereos run cleaner and easier. Also, Pure Sine wave generates less heat than other waveforms.


Modified Sine wave output tries to imitate pure sine waves but comes up a little short. Nevertheless, modified sine wave inverters have their advantages which include ability to run appliances and equipment such as power tools, non-digital microwave oven, lights, and other motor driven loads.

The main demerit to modified sine wave output is slight interference. This interference can be seen on some televisions and computers. It will not cause any damage, but can be a little annoying.However modified sine wave inverters will run most appliances, and are very affordable.

What determines my choice?
Your load. If you want to run a 800-watt machine, a 250-watt inverter will not do the job. When choosing an inverter determine what you want to run and then get the inverter that delivers the appropriate power you need. Most appliances have their power rating printed on them or their packaging. A simple equation to help determine the power you need is as follows:
Volts (110/230) x Amps = Wattage

Will it run my batteries dead?
Running an inverter certainly takes power from your batteries, Once your battery drops to certain point the inverter should give an alarm to let the user know battery power is getting low. If the inverter continues to operate, drawing more power, some designs will turn itself off to ensure you have enough power in your battery . It is important to note that to get the best performance from an inverter a good battery source is needed.

For more details, contact me
POWER SYSTEMS ENGINEER
ojoadebiyi@gmail.com
2348053622442

How much electricity?

Naturally, electrical usage will vary from model to model, so remember that the table in the last posts are just to guide with approximated estimates. But now that you know how to find out how much electricity things use (from the previous post), it's best to make your own table. Remember that the maximum amount of electricity your appliance uses will be printed on the appliance! (BUT do not forget the points noted in that post.)

Appliances with capabilities of creatingor removing heat use the most electricity. In the table below, appliances that make things hot are listed in red and ones that make things cold are listed in blue. As you can see, together they dwarf everything else on the list.
5000 watts Electric oven
5000 watts Clothes dryer (electric)
3800 watts Water heater (electric)
3500 watts Central Air Conditioner (2.5 tons)
1500 watts Microwave oven
1500 watts Toaster (four-slot)
900 watts Coffee maker
800 watts Range burner
500-1440 watts Window unit air conditioner
200-700 watts Refrigerator
60-100 watts Light bulb (energy hog because houses have lots of lights, and it's
easy to leave them on when they're not being used)
Fans 100 watts Floor fan or box fan (high speed) 15-95 watts Ceiling fan (Bigger fans and faster speeds use more energy.
140-330 watts Desktop Computer & 17" CRT monitor 1-20 watts Desktop Computer & Monitor (in sleep mode)
120 watts 17" CRT monitor
40 watts 17" LCD monitor
45 watts Laptop computer
Other 60-100 watts Regular light bulb
4-165 watts Video game (While playing game, 30W for PS2, 70W for XBox, and 165W for XBox 360.
55-90 watts 19" television 18 watts Compact fluorescent light bulb 4 watts Clock radio

calculate how much a given appliance is costing you per month or per year.

Of course, knowing that your refrigerator uses, say, 500 watts when the compressor's on doesn't tell you how much energy it uses in a month, because the compressor's not on 24/7.

Here are some basic strategy you can use in cutting down on your electricity usuage
(1) Use space heaters to heat only the rooms you're in, rather than a central system that heats the whole house, and turning off the heat when you're not home.
(2) Use ceiling fans instead of the air conditioner if you don't already have ceiling fans
(3) Use a clothesline or a laundry rack instead of a dryer
(4a) Wash laundry in cold water instead of hot
(4b) Wash laundry in warm water instead of hot
(5) Use a spin dryer to dry your clothes
(6) Replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescents
(7) Sleep your computer when you're not using it
Aggressive Strategies
(8) Replace 1990 fridge with 2004 model
(9) Replace a CRT computer monitor in a home office with an LCD display
RESOURCEShttp://michaelbluejay.com/http://www.generatorsales.com/

Can I find out how much electricity my equipment uses?

If the truth must be told, the cost of electricity is very high and most of the state-owned utility cannot realy be efficient if they keep on operating a low-tarrif regime. Had it been that people are realy made to pay for the real cost in a country like Nigeria, most of the wastages being experienced in the midst of acute shortage would have been curtailed.

Before we can begin to talk of viable and economical alternatives to conventional supply, we must take a cursory look at our individual electricity consumption, with a view to finding means for reduction before we undertake to provide credible alternatives, this I also believe would also make everyone appreciate and fully utilze the benefits inherent in Electricity Prepaid Metering

So how do you know the amount of electricty you consume. The shortcut is to just look at the label which also carries the name plate! Almost everything you can plug into the wall has such label that says how much electricity it uses. (It may be printed directly into the plastic or metal.) You may have to hunt for the label. It's often located on the bottom or side of the device, or possibly where the power cord enters the unit. If the device is powered with an
AC/DC adapter, the electrical rating is usually listed on the adapter itself.

If the label only gives the number of amps and not the number of watts, you can calculate the watt by multiplying the amps by 240v to get the number of watts. (Amps x Volts = Watts, England, Nigeria and other countries use 240 volts instead of 120v while most U.S. electricity is 120 volts. So a hot plate that uses 6 amps uses 6 x 240 = 1440 watts. If you are in the US or you appliance is powered by a step-down transformer of 240/120v , use 120 in
your calculations.) Note that if a device is powered by a converter (one of those great big plugs), then the converter has converted the electricity from AC to DC, so you need to multiply by the DC voltage, not the AC voltage of 120.

For example, if the device says "INPUT 8V, 0.5A", then that's 8 volts x 0.5 amps = 4.0 watts. You may have noticed that appliances may be labeled 110, 240 or 415 volts. Appliances are actually designed to accept a range of
voltages, between 110-415 volts, and the exact voltage coming out of your electrical socket can vary depending on conditions at the power plant and in your own home. Let's just agree that when we say 240 volts, we understand that it's actually a range from
220-240. And just use 240 for your calculations (except in the US other 120-volt countries).

• Please also note that
  The amount of electricity listed on the label is the maximum amount that the appliance will ever use. For example, a 300-watt refrigerator will only run at 300 watts when the compressor's running (which is when it makes that humming sound, indicating that it's actually chilling the air inside). Most of the time the fridge just sits there, using only 5 watts or so for its electronics. If the amount of work done by a device varies up and down, then so does its energy use. (e.g., a stereo that can be turned up or down, an oven that can be set at various temperatures, a fridge that sometimes runs and sometimes doesn't, a computer that sometimes spins its various drives and sometimes has to use more of its brainpower, etc.) The label on computers is particularly useless; a computer labeled
  at 200 watts probably uses only about 65.
  
• Many consumer items are advertised according to their power output, not input. That means the stereo that says 40 watts on the box might actually require 55 watts to make 40 watts of sound (assuming the volume setting was set to highest), and your 900-watt microwave oven might actually use 1500 watts (on its highest setting). That's because all electrical devices are inefficient - they have to use some extra energy to do what they do.
  
• Knowing how much electricity a device uses at a given moment doesn't tell you how much it's using in a month, because it's probably not running 24/7 (and if it is running 24/7 like a fridge, it's probably not using the maximum amount of electricity, as we discussed earlier).

• Some devices use a small amount of electricity even when they're not on. For example, VCR's and microwaves draw a small amount to power the time display. This amount is often 5 watts or less. Devices which run off transformers also draw a small amount of power. And of course, electricity consumption of a device varies from brand to brand, and condition to condition.
  

You can calculate your electricity consumption using the table below
Calculate your electric cost

Device /Wattage

Refrigerator (1/4 HP) 500

Freezer (1/4 HP) 600

Sump Pump 800

Water Pump (1 HP) 1900

Water Pump (2 HP) 2500

Table Fan 800

Window Air Conditioner 1200

Central Air (10k BTU)* 1500

Central Air (24k BTU)* 3800

Central Air (40k BTU)* 6000

Computer System: CPU, Monitor, Laser Printer 1500

UPS System 2000

CD Player 100

VCR 100

Radio 100

Television 300

Receiver 420

Microwave 800

Blender 300

Coffee Maker 1500

Electric Plate (1 element) 1500

Toaster (2-slice) 1000

Dishwasher (Hot Dry) 1500

Electric Oven 3410

Iron 1200

Washing Machine 1150

Gas Clothes Dryer 700

Electric Clothes Dryer 5400

Hand Drill (1/4 inch) 350

Hand Drill (1/2 inch) 600

Skill Saw (7.25 inch) 1800

Band Saw (14 inch) 1100

Circular Saw (6.5 inch) 800

Sawzall 750

Drills (3/8 inch) 440

Air Compressor (1 HP) 1500

High-Pressure Washer (1 HP) 1200

Submersible Pump (400 gph) 200

Electric Chainsaw (1/2 HP) 900

1/6 HP Motor 300

1/4 HP Motor 400

1/3 HP Motor 475

1/2 HP Motor 650

3/4 HP Motor 900

1 HP Motor 1000

1-1/2 HP Motor 1700

5 HP Motor 5000

Hair Dryer 1200

Electric Water Heater* 4000

Don't rely on these results without understanding the limitations. For example, your computer might use more or less electricity than my computer.
RESOURCES
http://michaelbluejay.com/
http://www.generatorsales.com/

WHY YOU SHOULD PREFER THE INVERTER

• THE INVERTER IS FREE FROM THE USUAL NOISE POLLUTION INHERENT IN GENERATORS.
  
• IT IS EQUALLY DEVOID OF AIR POLLUTANT ASSOCIATED WITH GENERATORS.
  THERE IS NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT FUEL.
  
• IT CAN BE MANUFACTURED LOCALLY AND ONE WOULD READILY FIND IMPORTED ONES AROUND.
  
• THE INVERTER MODULE IS COMPACT AND CAN BE POSITIONED EASILY.
  

DISADVATAGES

• THE EFFICIENCY OF THE INVERTER IS DETERMINED BY THE SIZE AND AH-RATING OF THE BATTERY CONNECTED TO IT.
  
• THE SIZE AND VALUES OF COMPONENTS USED DETERMINES THE MAXIMUM LOAD THAT CAN BE DRAWN FROM THE INVERTER.
  

HOWEVER YOU CAN SPECIFY THE TYPE YOU WANT BY FURNISHING THE MANUFACTURER WITH THE SIZE OF YOUR EQUIPMENT AND THE TOTAL LOAD YOU WOULD BE DEMANDING.
MOST LOCALLY MADE INVERTERS TODAY IN NIGERIA THAT WILL CARRY THE SAME LOAD AS THE POPULAR GASOLINE 650VA GENERATORS GOES FOR BETWEEN N5,000 TO N10,000 ($40-$80). AND ALL THE ADDITIONAL COST FOR MAINTENACE AND FUELING ARE NO LONGER NECESSARY.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN GETTING ONE CONTACT ME-
OJO ADEBIYI D
08053622442
ojoadebiyi@gmail.com