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People always ask us “exactly how does a power inverter work?” The answer to this question often surprises our customers. Car power inverters work much more simply than mysteriously, and the learning curve required to understand them requires no more than a very basic knowledge of electricity. Essentially, there are two forms of electrical power in the Universe: Direct Current (DC) and Alternating Current (AC). Direct current flows continuously from the positive electrical pole to the negative electrical pole. Alternating current flows back and forth between the two poles. DC current occurs in Nature and batteries, while AC current is man-made and supplies power through the public utility grid that supports human industry and infrastructure. Car batteries presented a problem in the past when people realized they needed to operate traditionally AC-powered devices in their cars but could not do so because of incompatible current requirements. Manufacturers like Vector stepped up to solve this dilemma by working to design car power inverters that would safely and efficiently convert DC to AC. Their successful engineering has resulted in a wide range of compact, rectangular devices that connect to batteries and output the resulting alternating current safely through one or more standard electrical plugs.

Two factors determine how a power inverter works: wave output and wattage output. Wave output describes the physical appearance of electrical signals as they move across an oscilloscope. Square waves appear exactly as their name specifies: like squares on a grid. Pure sine waves, also called true sine waves, appear as visible waves on the screen. Sine wave car power inverters work better than square wave power inverters when uninterrupted power flow is a critical issue. In fact, true sine output is sometimes slightly superior to that of public utility power grids! Because of this, they are also the most expensive devices of their kind on the market. Recent advances in technology have accommodated users on a budget with a hybrid design generally referred to as either a modified square or modified sine wave power inverter. The technical differences that determine how a true sine car power inverter works and how a modified sine power inverter works are too minor to produce any noticeable effects with standard electronics. Only the most high-end equipment requires true sine output, and the cost of these devices may justify the additional investment in pure sine technology to deliver maximum quality and reliable performance.

Another new development that allows car power inverters to work with even more reliability than ever before is the sophisticated Soft Start Technology, branded “SST” by manufacturers such as Vector. SST is the next step in the evolution of how power inverters work. The very first power inverters for cars would only work intermittently during cold engine starts. Because they could not pull enough power from the battery, they would shut down from current underload and require a manual restart. SST resolves this issue by gradually increasing voltage ramp up during engine startup. If the output dips for any reason, SST makes instant adjustments to compensate and will prevent most shutdowns. If in the rare event a shutdown does occur, the newer car power inverters work automatically to restart themselves without distracting the driver from the road.

Red Hill Supply delivers only the best and most reliable power inverters that will work in virtually any situation requiring DC-AC conversion. Learn more about how power inverters work in our Resources section, and browse our online catalogue to obtain the most high end and specialized devices through our simple, convenient online order process.

The World Of Power Inverters

Most of the time, when the electricity gets interrupted due to a heavy downpour or a severe storm or any other reason, the reliable source of it when you require it the most is the power inverter. These devices are designed to answer these power outages and pose as a reliable and economic alternate source of electricity. That is why, the inverters have enjoyed great popularity since their introduction in the market.

These devices are designed to convert direct current to alternating current. Most of them work by converting 12 Volt DC power into 110 volts AC. With the use of an inverter you can run household appliances from a car or any other DC source in areas where there is no electricity. These are available in two categories, The True Sine Wave and the Modified Sine Wave.

Of these the True sine wave inverters provide utility grade power but are expensive and can run almost anything including laser printers and fax machines. The sine wave is most suitable to operate higher-end electronic equipment which can be damaged by other inverters. On the other hand, the Modified sine waves are the most common types available today. Like its counterpart, this inverter can sufficiently run most household appliances and tools. It is more economical compared to the true sine wave inverter, but may ask for certain compromises with some loads such as microwave ovens, laser printers, clocks and cordless tool chargers.

Power inverters are widely used for large assortment of applications, from small power supplies for a computer to large industrial applications to transport bulk power. One of the most widely used applications include running television sets, microwaves and other household appliances and charging cell phones, laptops from a car cigarette lighter outlet and running tools from a 12 volt battery on jobsites where electricity is not available.

If you are looking forward to buy one, remember that most of your household electrical devices will run perfectly on both the type of wave form. Most of the users who are using a power inverter to run a laptop, a/c cell phone charger, fan, or camera agree that a modified-sine wave that operates through the cigarette lighter socket is the easiest to use. While you buy, it is suggested to choose an inverter that is rated under 300 watts when using the 12-volt cigarette lighter socket found in most vehicles. This is because after reaching 300 watts of draw on the inverter, the fuses in your car might blow off. Such power inverters are a great choice for dashboarders who would like an easy solution to run their devices. It has only one outlet, but since plugging it into a 12 volt socket is all that is required for operation. This little inverter can supply 140 watts of continuous operation and has a built-in surge protector.

Inverter Air Conditioning Advice

One thing that regularly comes up when people are searching for an air conditioner is the inverter. So the most common questions people want to know is what actually is an inverter and what can an inverter do? Below are the 4 main reasons to purchase an inverter hvac system over a standard hvac system.

1) Quieter Running Noise – Inverter compressors are extremely quiet and up to a few decibels quieter than the same size non-inverter unit. This is of great benefit if you live close to your neighbors house or you have the outdoor unit located near one of your own bedrooms.

2) Less Strain On Components – The smooth starting (called a soft start) of an inverter means less strain on components. These systems generally ease into operation which causes less wear and tear.

3) Lower Energy Use – Expect an inverter to be from 30% to 50% cheaper to run than a standard non-inverter air conditioning system. Payback of the initial extra cost of the inverter should take between 2-5 years depending on how you use the system and how much you use it.

4) More Power – Inverters are usually more powerful than standard systems. The only drawback of this is if you push your system too hard to it’s extremes (e.g. by setting a extremely low or high temperature) it may actually cost more to run than a standard system.

These are the 4 main advantages of an inverter air conditioner. Inverter air conditioners usually cost a little bit more to buy upfront than a non-inverter system, but they are certainly worth the extra expense.

What you should know about UPS waveform, to eliminate the possibility of computer dropping when using Standby or Line Interactive UPS systems.

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems provide output voltage either from the utility mains (line) or from backup batteries by means of an internal DC to AC inverter that converts the direct battery voltage to Alternating AC waveform. Utility line voltage has a sinusoidal waveform with a grid frequency of 50Hz or 60 Hz.  The inverter voltage has also a sinusoidal waveform in most Online UPS systems, but mostly a non sinusoidal, pulsed type waveform in Off Line ( Stand By or Line Interactive) UPS systems.

Conservatively, Computer Power Supplies use a simple rectifier bridge to convert the incoming alternating line voltage to the direct voltage required to power computer circuits, which works fine with all common pulsed voltage waveform types. Therefore, most Line Interactive and Standby UPS systems, based on economical considerations provide non sinusoidal, pulsed output waveform.

These systems however, are prone to drop load when powering new computer servers build to comply with recent green oriented legislative requirements.

A pulsed waveform includes the basic sinusoidal waveform with the fundamental frequency of the mains, and additional high frequency parasitic harmonics which do not contribute to the UPS output power. Recent green oriented legislations, such as Energy Star require increasing computer server’s efficiency and its power factor by eliminating input current harmonics. In order to comply, new server power supplies use an Active Power Factor Correction (APFC) circuit instead of the passive simple rectifying bridge. We can expect most future standard computers to include APFC circuits as manufacturers follow suit.

New computers with APFC power supplies are designed to work with sinusoidal input voltage, and as evidenced, drop in certain cases the load if the UPS Inverter provides a non sinusoidal waveform. Contrary to the conservative passive rectifier circuits, which all contain similar input circuits; the specific design of the APFC circuit depends on the manufacturer. Thus, the exact behavior of a particular UPS with non sinusoidal Inverter and a particular computer or load size cannot be predicted.

The main threat with Line Interactive and Standby UPS systems with non sinusoidal inverters lies in the fact that its inability to backup new green oriented computers is revealed at the very moment when the utility power fails and the Inverter kicks in. It’s like finding out that the brakes in your car aren’t working when you are on a steep downhill.

Things you should know about UPS Inverter for Computer protection:

1. New computers build to meet Green Oriented legislation use Active Power Factor Correction designed to work with sinusoidal waveform. Such computers can turn off, trip the input breaker, or shut down the UPS due to overload, when powered from non sinusoidal waveform.

2. The problem will be evident mainly with Standby UPS systems and Line Interactive UPS systems upon power outage, when the load is transferred from utility to the non-sinusoidal Inverter fed from the backup battery.

3. Modified Sine wave, Semi sinusoidal waveform, Stepped waveform, Square waveform are all pulsed type Non – Sinusoidal waveforms.

4. Almost 100% of Standby UPS systems and 70% of Line Interactive UPS systems from most brands have non sinusoidal waveform Inverters.

5. A UPS that works fine with a particular Green Labeled computer may not work properly with another green labeled computer.

6. A UPS which works fine with existing green label computers may cause problems if the load on the UPS is increased or when additional computers are added.

7. Type of waveform, if not sinusoidal is generally not stated on UPS trading websites, sometimes even not in UPS technical specifications.

Currently most personal computers as well as existing servers use conservative power supplies with simple rectifier circuits, which work fine with pulsed type UPS Inverters. You should however prefer sinusoidal UPS Inverter systems, when buying a UPS intended to protect future computers or new servers which might have an APFC type power supply.

If you have a renewable solar energy setup in your home, it is a good idea to invest in a grid tie inverter and feed power back to the utility companies. The laws and amounts vary by the location you reside in, it is a good idea to contact the utility company in your area for the numbers and requirements, but generally you are compensated or charged for the difference in energy between the amount you use and the amount you send back.

While there are costs with setting up a home renewable energy source, and there is an investment in the type of grid tie inverter you purchase, but over time you will recoup your investment money and begin to make money. This happens faster when you have invested in a grid tie inverter than if you didn’t.

When you are selecting the grid tie inverter you want to install, you need to take into account a few things about your location and power usage to determine which setup is the best for your residence or business. Naturally there are locations where solar energy systems will produce more invertible energy sources than others. You need to ensure that your grid tie inverter can handle the amounts of electricity that can be sent back.

There are a number of sources for purchasing grid tie inverters. You want to ensure you are consulting with a professional solar energy and inverter installer so you don’t end up purchasing an inappropriate type of equipment. Caution should also be exercised where you buy your inverter as well.  There are some you may purchase not knowing that they are not legal in the area you reside in.

Accidentally purchasing and installing an illegal grid tie converter can cost you in fines from your utility company, so ask questions, and get advice from the utility company directly to avoid any possible complications of this type. Additionally these inverters might not be safe for you to install or use, you would not want to cause yourself or your family grief.

It is possible to purchase schematics and construct your own grid tie converter along with your solar energy system. This does involve educating yourself and consulting with professionals in cases where you are unsure of how to proceed.  Following that you need to get approval from your city hall in order to install your design.

It might seem like a lot of work to get your solar energy and grid tie inverter system up, however once it is going, it requires relatively little maintenance.  Your addition of a grid tie inverter will also feel worthwhile when you receive income back from the utility company!

Employ Solar Power and Save Energy with Solar Power Inverters

Everyone knows that one of the sorrowful times we face each month is receiving our costly electric bill. The price keeps on augmenting and it looks to be difficult of us to get rid of it. But we are fortunate that solar electricity is an alternative energy source to clear up the problem. Having a solar power system at home, we won’t stress about the electric bills.

Solar energy has been used for a very long time and, recently, more people are attempting to build their own solar energy system at homes. The quantity of solar energy panels built is skyrocketing. People desire to not only reduce the bills but also make any effort the save our planet.

It has become very convenient and straightforward for you to get solar electricity for homes and here is how you can use this replenish-able and clean energy with the help of solar power inverters.

Why Using solar power Inverters

The job of the solar power inverters is to convert the solar power into serviceable electricity for homes. After your solar energy panels attract the solar electricity and trap the heat, your solar power inverters will take over the job and provide enough power for you.

The solar panels used for amassing the solar energy are also named photovoltaic panels. Thru acceptable wiring, the solar inverters will connect to the panels and, as a consequence, the energy will be transformed into electricity for your air heating system, swimming heating system, lighting and more.

How Handy Solar Power Inverters Are

Solar electricity is not just used at home. You can even use it when you are enjoying any outside activities. For example, if you are camping, you can install solar energy panels on your RV and use the solar inverters to convert the solar power. Then you will no longer have to stress about power problem in the jungle.

There are more and more people building solar energy systems for homes and RVs. One of the reasons is that it is actually an inexpensive task. Some people have revealed that the cost can be under 0. With the use of solar power inverters, you can transform enough energy for your use.

What makes it more appealing is that you’ll save and earn cash at the same time. If your solar power system is enormous enough to supply more electricity you have to use, the electrical company will have to buy the additional energy from you. You can simply break even.

Helpful Tip

The installation of solar energy panels and solar energy converters needs to be done in a professional way. You have to ensure that the solar energy panels that you place on the roof are in the right position to acquire enough daylight. You’ll also have to think about how to capture the maximum sunlight in cloudy days or winter to make full use of your solar electricity system.

How Do Solar Inverters Work?

Exeltech inverters may be the one piece of electrical equipment that most solar energy users do not know much about. They are very discrete, unobtrusive boxes that convert direct current (DC), in this case from solar panels, to alternating current (AC) for practical use. With the use of proper transformers, switching, and circuit controls, alternating current can be converted to any voltage and frequency.

Apart from solar panels, Exeltech inverters are also used to transmit power from batteries and fuel cells.

Most property owners using solar electricity use grid tie Exeltech inverters. These inverters are capable of feeding back energy into the utility grid because it produces alternating current with the amplitude and frequency as the energy provided by the utility distribution network. These are quite useful as they can shut off in the event of a blackout.

Most property owners using solar electricity use grid tie Exeltech inverters. These inverters are capable of feeding back energy into the utility grid because it produces alternating current with the amplitude and frequency as the energy provided by the utility distribution network. These are quite useful as they can shut off in the event of a blackout.

Micro-inverters are used to convert direct current from individual solar panels into alternating current solely for feeding it into the utility grid.

A commercial generator or un-interruptible power supply uses a battery and an inverter to store alternating current for a main power distribution outage. Once main power is restored, a rectifier is used to supply direct current electricity for recharging the battery.

Why Do You Need An Inverter?

Solar panels produce DC (direct current) electricity. DC electricity is created by electrons moving in one direction from negative to positive. It’s mainly used in basic applications involving the use of a battery such as a flashlight and is good for use over short distances.

A Stamp Called the Inverted Jenny

If you collect stamps, there is no doubt that you want the Inverted Jenny as part of your collection. This is a postage stamp issued in the US on May 10, 1918. The design of the stamp was supposed to contain a picture of the Curtiss JN-4 airplane. Through a mistake in the printing process, the image of the airplane was accidentally placed on the stamp upside down. The error was the most highly prized mistake in stamp printing history. Since only about 100 of these stamps are still in existence, it is extremely rare and valuable.

How did this mistake happen? During the 1910 decade, the postal system of the United States went through many experiments to find ways of making mail delivery faster. One of the ways it came up with was by air and the Curtiss Jenny was one of the planes used for carrying mail. The postal system wanted a new stamp for its airmail and decided that a depiction of the plane used for the mail routes was the perfect one to use. It was in a rush to make these stamps available to post offices with engraving starting on May 4 and printing starting on May 10.

The stamp contained two colours and with the technology available in the early part of the 20th century, this meant that the stamp had to be printed twice. When the sheets of stamps were fed through the printing press a second time, they were placed upside down and so the plane was upside down on the final result. These stamps were printed in sheets of 100 instead of the usual 400. Three sheets were discovered and destroyed, but one sheet of 100 stamps escaped detection and was released. This is the sheet of stamps that still survives to this day.

The mistake was made public and stamp collectors rushed to the post office to buy the new stamp hoping they would be lucky enough to find one. It was W.T. Robey who was the lucky collector who purchased the full sheet of stamps when he went to make an ordinary purchase at his local post office. He asked to see more sheets of the stamps, but there were no other misprints in the batch. Once he announced his find, he did receive visits from postal inspectors and he had to hide the stamps. He later sold the sheet to a dealer in Philadelphia named Eugene Klein for 00. Klein sold the stamps to Colonel H.R. Green for a considerable profit. The price was ,000.

Green decided to break up the stamps into blocks and sell each one separately. He even had one placed in a locket as a gift for his wife. If you want to buy one of these blocks of stamps today, you will have to shell out a lot of money. A center block costs about 0,000.

In the US election of 2006, election workers in Florida found one of these stamps affixed to a mail in ballot. Since there was no return address or no identification on the ballot, the ballot was disqualified and the workers had no hint as to who the sender could have been. This means that it is possible there are more Inverted Jennies out there than was previously thought.

Basic Microscope Stuff: Differentiating an Upright From an Inverted Microscope

Microscopes come in many forms and types. Gone are the days when the only terms related to the microscope are the electron and the compound microscopes. Today, there are numerous kinds and you don’t even know what each is really used for. You can’t even differentiate one type from another.

To clear that clutter on your mind, let’s get a few things straight.

First, the modern microscope can be classified according to compound or stereo. The compound microscope uses only one eye-piece (that cylindrical part of the microscope that you put your eyes on to see the specimen being examined). On the other hand, the stereo microscope uses two optical paths and has the ability to give you a 3D image. It is for this reason that this kind of modern microscope is very popular in surgery and in dissecting objects and even machine tools.

Second, there are two frame types of the modern microscope: the upright microscope and the inverted microscope. For you to have a clearer understanding on the difference of the two, you must be familiar with the major parts of the microscope first.

* The Illumination system – this refers to the group of parts that gives lighting to the specimen. This group includes the lamp, the condenser, the diaphragms (or pinhole apertures) and the rheostat, among others.

* The Stage – this is where the specimen rests. Usually, the specimen is held in place and moved with the use of clips and a micromanipulator, respectively.

* The Lens system- these are the group of parts responsible in forming the image. This includes the eyepiece, objective lenses, tube and the nosepiece (the mount that holds several objective lenses).

To distinguish an upright from an inverted microscope, you only need to remember the placement of the three major microscope parts mentioned above. The upright microscope is your standard view of a microscope: on top is the lens system, followed by the stage, and then the illumination system. The inverted microscope, on the other hand, has the reverse sequence. You have the illumination system on top, then the stage, followed by the lens system.

Does an inverted microscope make sense? At the outset, the idea might seem ridiculous. But upon careful consideration, you’d realize how useful an inverted microscope is.

This kind of frame is very useful in examining a specimen that’s either too large or too heavy. Yes, an inverted microscope would come in handy if you want to study cells in suspension. This is because the lenses are closer to the bottom of the specimen – where the cells are. Thus, it makes more sense to make use of an inverted microscope rather than an upright microscope in this scenario.

Microscopes – just like cameras – use accessories too. Among the widely used accessories are: the Epi-fluorescent attachment kit, a mechanical case, or even a microscope case. These make your microscope become more powerful (just when you think they could not get any more powerful, huh?).

So there you are, a little clarification about the many terms related to the microscope. To review, the modern microscope can be classified as either stereo or compound. But in relation to frame types, only two words must come to mind: upright and inverted. Easy enough, right?

Rv Converters And Rv Inverters

Early RVs were manufactured with dual voltage components that would run on both 110 AC electricity and 12 volt DC, or battery power.  With the invention of the power converter, manufacturers can reduce weight and cost by installing 12 volt only components, and use converters to power them while hooked to shore power.

Today RVs come equipped with a power converter.  Your converter is really a simple device that takes 110 volt AC and turns it into 12 volt DC.  They allow you to use your 12 volt appliances, fans, pumps and camper lights while you are plugged in to 110.

Most RV power converters are equipped with a battery charger to keep the RV’s battery charged when connected to a 110 power source.  These chargers are usually trickle charges with a charge rate of less than 10 amps.

Inverters work the exact opposite. It will change battery of DC power to AC current.  Some RVs have inverters to provide AC power at times when shoreline power is not available, or when generator use is not advised.  Inverters are rated in watts, from 50 to 3000 watts.

RV Power inverters are nice to have for dry camping.  Generators require fuel, regular maintenance and can be very noisy. We usually dry camp to avoid noise. Inverters are quiet – not even a hum, and are virtually maintenance free!

A power inverter relies on good RV deep cycle batteries to work properly.  They work well for low power appliances such as televisions, radios, computers, and for short term use of appliances such as coffee makers or microwaves.

Care should be taken with your batteries when using an inverter for your RV power.  For extended stays at a site without electrical hookups, it is advisable to have spare batteries, and to recharge your batteries whenever you can.