What are the different types of inverters?
There are 3 major types of inverters:
Pure sine wave
Modified sine wave
and Square wave
South Africa operates on a 230V supply voltage and 50Hz. Therefore the electrical current periodically (50 times a second) reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously.
If we measure the oscillations of the electrical current a true sinusoidal curve is produced
A pure sine wave is what you get from your municipal or ESKOM grid and from some pure sine generators. A major advantage of a pure sine wave inverter is that all consumer equipment which is sold is designed for a pure sine wave.
The oscillation curve of the different types of inverters
Modified Sine Wave
A modified sine wave inverter has a waveform more like a square wave. A modified sine wave inverter will work fine with most equipment, although the efficiency or power of the equipment will be reduced. Motors, such as those in refrigerators, pool pumps, fans etc. will use more power from the inverter due to lower efficiency (about 20% more power).
Square Wave
Only very old and inexpensive inverters produce a square wave output. A square wave inverter will run simple things like tools with universal motors with no problem – but not much else.
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