There are 2 types of inverters: modified sine wave (also known as modified square wave, stepped square wave or quasi sine wave) and true sine wave (also known as full sine wave or pure sine wave).
Modified sine wave inverters are suitable for most appliances but may not work well or at all with some electronic equipment such as speed controlled appliances, digital clocks, some chargers, microwave overs, fluorescent lights, laser printers, high torque motors, etc. These inverters are however simpler to manufacture and are therefore cheaper than true sine wave inverters.
True sine wave inverters produce a very clean output, with less waveform distortion, run cooler and are suitable for virtually all appliances but the more complex electronics make these inverters a lot more expensive than modified sine wave units.
We do not recommend inverters larger than 300W output in an automotive environment unless they are installed with extreme care. As a rough indication, a 150W inverter under full load requires 14A from the battery, 300W requires 28A, 600W requires 55A, and a 1000W inverter requires 92A (more than most batteries’ capacity)! Estimate your power requirements carefully and choose the inverter accordingly.
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