2k watt power inverters are a great piece of equipment to have at home. They are perfect for helping you with your everyday activities during power cuts by powering your essential devices.
While you know and may use inverters to power bulbs, fans, and tube lights, you may wonder how well it can power an air conditioner.
The thought is most likely to cross your mind when a power cut occurs in the hot summer months, when you need your air conditioner the most.
And the good news is yes.
Your true sine wave inverters can indeed power an air conditioner. Read on to find out how.
Inverter basics
First of all, you need to know the basics of inverters.
And it is that all types of inverters convert the direct current or DC you receive from the grid to AC or alternating current. This helps ensure it safely powers all your regular household appliances.
Inverters usually form part of a 12-volt DC system, and it takes about 11 amps of DC power to operate a 1-amp AC powered appliance. So, in other words, suppose if you have a 5-amp window air conditioner.
In this case, it means that you require 55 amps of DC power to operate it continuously.
While this seems reasonable, remember that all appliances have a starting surge to make the motor start running. And this surge is about five times more than the continuous electrical load.
In this case of your 5 amp air conditioner, it means that your inverter should have 275 (5 x 55) amps of DC power to start it. It then has to maintain a constant power supply of 55 amps to power your air conditioner continuously.
Your air conditioner
Now let’s take a look at the smallest size air conditioners. They usually come with a range of 5000 BTU and require about 4 to 5 amps of power to operate.
So, in other words, if you have a smaller sized air conditioning unit at home, it means that you need smaller sized true sine wave inverters.
It, in turn, is not so expensive an investment.
Inverters generally work by transferring a fixed amount of power required to power any given electrical device. This includes air conditioners.
Inverters generally are charged from power sources like batteries, solar panels, windmills, or hydropower. However, these power sources must provide the necessary amount of surge power with the continuous energy required to run the air conditioner.
How to charge your inverter to power air conditioners
If you plan to use your inverter to power your air conditioner, it is always better if they are charged by batteries. But it is important that you remember to charge these batteries regularly.
You can use other alternative power sources for charging the batteries, which include solar panels, windmills, and others.
Larger sized batteries
You may need to look for a bigger battery or a larger capacity battery if you plan to use it to power your inverter, and run your air conditioner.
This is very important because the inverter will not be able to handle the load if it does not have a large enough battery.
So there you go.
You now have the answer to your question, if air conditioners can run on inverters.
It is yes.
But it is only as long as the inverter is powered by the right-sized battery. It should be a battery which accommodates the air conditioner powering requirements and has sufficient surge power.
And if you need help adjusting your 2k watt power inverters so that it powers an air conditioner, you can always turn to Exeltech technicians for help and guidance.
