Inverter Guide

Soft start inverters are better suited to devices with motors. They can handle the initial surge required to start the motor moving. Always choose an inverter with a higher power rating than the appliance that you want to use, as some energy is lost, typically 10%, by the inverter itself.

There are two power ratings on an inverter, continuous and peak. Beware of sellers who quote only peak values. You should choose an inverter by its continuous output or power.

Inverters up to 150 watts can be plugged into a car cigar lighter. 300W inverters are supplied with cigar lighter (for use with appliances up to 200W, and battery leads for use with appliances over 200W. Larger inverters are supplied with battery leads only.

Consider the size of inverters, and the weight. Our range is compact in size, but higher power ones can be quite heavy.

Our range of inverters are all fitted with one or more standard UK square pin sockets. We also sell travel adapters to convert to European twin plugs.

The table below gives a general indication of power consumption. As a rule of thumb, appliance that produces heat (e.g. a kettle) heat will use lots of power. Anything with a motor will use a fair amount of power. Consumer electronics generally use very little power. It is always best to look at the appliance rating plate. We sell both 12 and 24 volt inverters. Cars have 12V batteries, many commercial vehicles have 24V batteries.

An inverter will consume battery power. Using an appliance that takes 120W is the same as leaving your car headlights on. You can calculate how long you can run an appliance for on a battery by looking at the battery rating. A 50 ampere hour battery will deliver 50 amps for 1 hour. At 12 volts, that is 600W for 1 hour (12volts x 50amps=600watts). Therefore it will power one tenth of the power (for example a 60 watt portable TV) for ten times as long, i.e. 10 hours. However in reality you will not drain the battery completely, so you will probably get about 8 hours usage. Batteries also get less efficient as they get older, so you should take this into account. If you use the inverter sensibly with the car engine running, it should be OK.

Domestic Appliances

Audio / Video

Lighting

Home Office

Power tools

Battery charger

7.2V cordless drill charger 8W
Camcorder (6V, 1200mA) 23W
Phone charger 25W
Fast charger (for AA/AA) 35W

Keeping an inverter in your car is a great idea if you have kids, because it can be used to charge up / power their game consoles / toys, which usually help keep them quiet on a long run!