One of the many criteria used to select an inverter is if you want a sine or modified sine wave inverter. This is an important decision to make because the wrong choice can cause more harm than good.
Though both are inverters, they are quite different in their function. The alternating current emitted from power companies is comprised of a continuously varying voltage. It tends to switch from positive to negative, which proves advantageous when transmitting power across long distances.
Sine waves emit minimum radio power
The power that your power company supplies is not just random power. It is carefully regulated to produce a perfect sine wave, the power that is naturally emitted from a generator. Sine waves tend to emit the least amount of radio power during long distance power transmissions.
Besides these many advantages, there is a huge disadvantage associated with sine waves. It is expensive to make in an inverter and most of the sine wave techniques are produced using the help of heavy and inefficient transformers.
Modified sine waves
There is a cheap method of making AC, which is to switch the DC on and off to give a square wave. Modified sine waves stimulate sine waves in every respect so that they work well with most appliances.
The waves are comprised of a flat level of positive voltage that first temporarily falls to zero. It next falls to a flat level of negative voltage, temporarily returns to zero and then returns to the positive voltage level once again.
It’s during the pause at the point of zero volts that more power is emitted in modified sine wave inverters than a simple square wave. This is why it is also referred to as a modified sine wave instead of a square wave.
MOSFETs generally only completely turn on and off when releasing some heat equivalent to the power generated. Using a heat sink or a small semiconductor in inverters helps generate real sine waves.
