Aug 26, 2011 07:12 PM
9167130 Views
(Updated Jan 03, 2014 12:55 AM)
strong textI was looking for a good inverter for my home where there is lots of power cuts during the summer. I went to most of the dealers and read reviews of all reputed brands like Microtek, GC, Luminous and some local products. It was very difficult to take the decision. I spoke to few of my friends those who were using the Inverter and found that that they are not satisfied with the performance. Also my parents were not willing to go for the inverter because of the negative feedback form the users. Once the power goes off, inverter could serve for 2-3 hours. If the load shedding is more, the inverter becomes useless and also they need to switch off the lights/fans to avoid the load on inverter.Most of the users were not aware of the inverter model and the battery used or the capacity. later I started looking for Inverter/Battery combination and found that inverter capacity 600-800VA and battery rating 80 - 100Ah.
Requirement:
4BHK with 6 Fans, 2 TVs. Lighting: 80% CFL bulbs with 20W each.Power cut duration from 1 to 6 Hrs.I discussed the requirement with many vendors and found that the Inverter with 800VA is sufficient for the current load and backup duraton is depends on the battery current rating(Ah). When we go to buy the Inverter, most of the vendors have fixed the combination of inverter and battery, The battery rating will be max 100Ah. Inverter are available starting from 10K including battery, My suggestion is not to go with the price tag, instead buy the inverter depends on your requirement.
Inverter: Luminous 800VA Sinewave - Rs 6, 500 with 2 Yrs replacement warranty
Battery: Exide INVA Tubular IT500(120Ah). - Rs 11, 500 with 4 Yrs warranty
Type of Inverters: There are mainly two types of inverters based on the output voltage, Sinewave and Squarewave(it is also called as modified sinewave).Advantages of Sinewave over the squarewave:The output wave-form is a sine-wave with very low harmonic distortion and clean power like utility supplied electricity. Reduces audible and electrical noise in fans, fluorescent lights, audio amplifiers, TV, Incase of Square wave, there will be humming sound when Fan is running.
Choosing Inverter: While choosing the right inverter, find out how much wattage is required to run your equipment. Every bulb or equipment comes with wattage rating on it. If the appliances showing only the Ampere rating, use this simple calculation to find out the wattage.230 volts x Amps= Watts.e.g 4 bulb X 20W= 80W1 TV X 120W=120W(My Sony DZ29 TV consumes 200W)Total 200 WattInverter output might have given to all equipements in the home(Fans, TVs, Lights) but you need to consider what you will be running at any given time. eg 1 TV, 3-4 lights and 1 Fan regularly and 2 fans and 1-2 bulbs during the night. Inverter may not be required to run everything at a time.
About Battery:The capacity of a battery is the amount of charge available expressed in apmere-hours(Ah).A battery with 1Ah capacity can supply a current of one ampere for one hour. For example: A battery which delivers 1 ampere for 20 hours would have a 20 amp-hour battery rating(1A* 20h= 20Ah).The charging or discharging rate of a battery, expressed in terms of its total storage capacity Ah.Discharge rate is the rate at which charge is withdrawn from a battery during discharge; i.e., the discharge current, expressed in terms of the battery.s capacity. In other words the C rate, as applied to discharging.So a rate of 1C means transfer of all of the stored energy in one hour. Please check the link for more details .https://exide4u.com/exide/JSP/masters/apnpro/inva_tubular.htm Some of the best combination suggested are .600VA 1 Battery(12V)(80AH to 120AH)800VA1 Battery(12V)(100AH to 165AH)1400VA 2 Battery(24V)(165AH to 200AH)Backup time depends on the Battery capacity, more the ampere rating, more backup.It is not recomonded to use the high capacity battery as inverter may not be able to fully charge batteries within specifications.(e.g. 800VA inverter with 200AH battery). Using 80Ah battery with 800VA inverter will not affect the inverter performance but backup time will be less.
Why Luminous: For any product purchased, we should look for the after sales service, and how quick they respond our queries. It all depends on the service network available @ your area. I had shortlisted Microtek, Luminous and CG and only Microtek and Luminous were having Sinewave Models. Microtek service was not upto the mark and the vendor was not showing much interest and providing details on the product whereas the Luminous vendor was very knwoledgeable and assured the good service.I settled for Luminous 800VA model.Usage: we are using this from the past 2 yrs and there are no issues with the product. Performance is good and it can take the load of 3-4 CFLs, 1TV and 1 Fan(Regular load) and can run 2 Fans and 2 CFLs for 6+ Hrs continuously.
Maintainance: Keep the Unit in well ventilated area. The Battery requires maintenance like putting distilled water in the battery cells, Regularly check the water level indicator and clean the carbon deposits on the Battery terminals & poles, applying of petroleum jelly, checking specific gravity every two months, etc. All these activities are done, to keep the Battery in good running condition.
