Inverter: Types, Circuit Diagram and

Its Applications
The power conversion from direct current to alternate current was accomplished in the
middle of 19th to 20th century with the help of MG sets (motor generator sets) and rotary
converters. In the early 20th century, gas-filled tubes, as well as vacuum tubes, were used
as switches within inverter circuits. An inverter is an electrical device, and it is capable of
changing a DC current to an AC current at a given frequency as well as voltage. For
instance, if we want to provide power supply to home appliances then it will use 230V AC.
In some cases, when the AC power is not available then power supply can be provided to
the home appliances through a 12V inverter. Inverters are applicable for PV systems to
provide the supply to the electrical devices in mountain huts, isolated houses, boats,
camper vans, etc. In this article, we are going to discuss what is an inverter? how to make
an inverter, working and its applications.
What is an Inverter?
An inverter can be defined as it is a compact and rectangular shaped electrical equipment
used to convert direct current (DC) voltage to alternating current (AC) voltage in common
appliances. The applications of DC involves several small types of equipment like solar
power systems. Direct current is used in many of the small electrical equipment such as
solar power systems, power batteries, power-sources, fuel cells because these are simply
produced direct current.

Inverter
The basic role of an inverter is to change DC power into AC power. The AC power can be
supplied to homes, and industries using the public utility otherwise power grid, the
alternating-power systems of the batteries can store only DC power. In addition, almost all
the household appliances, as well as other electrical equipment can be functioned by
depending on AC power.
In some cases, generally, the input voltage is lesser whenever the output voltage is
equivalent to the grid supply voltage of either 120 V otherwise 240 V based on the
country. These devices are standalone devices for some applications like solar power.
There are different types of inverters available in the market based on the switching
waveform shape. An inverter uses DC power sources to provide an AC voltage to giving
the supply to the electronic as well as electrical equipment.

Working of Inverter
The working of an inverter is, it converts DC to AC, and these devices never generate any
kind of power because the power is generated by the DC source. In some situations like
when the DC voltage is low then we cannot use the low DC voltage in a home appliance.
So due to this reason, an inverter can be used whenever we utilize solar power panel.
Types of Inverters
Inverters are classified into two type’s namely single phase and three phases

Single Phase Inverter

Single phase inverters are classified into two types namely half-bridge inverter & full bridge
inverter
Half Bridge Inverter
The half-bridge inverter is an essential building block in the full bridge inverter. It can be
built with two switches where each one of its capacitors includes an o/p voltage which is
equivalent to Vdc2. Additionally, the switches balance each other, if one switch is
activated then automatically another switch will deactivate.
Full Bridge Inverter
The full bridge inverter circuit converts direct current to alternate current. It can be
achieved by opening as well as closing the switches within the correct series. This type of
inverter has dissimilar operating states which depend on closed switches.
Three Phase Inverter
A three-phase inverter is used to alter an input DC to a 3-phase output AC. Generally, its
3-arms are deferred with 120° of an angle to produce a 3-phase AC supply. The inverter
control which has a 50% of the ratio as well as controlling can take place after every T/6 of
the time T. The switches used in the inverter complement each other.
The 3-single phase inverters place across the similar DC source, and the pole voltages
within a 3-phase inverter are equivalent to the pole voltages within 1-phase half-bridge
inverter. These inverters have two conduction modes such as 120°-mode of conduction &
180° mode of conduction.
Inverter Circuit Diagram
There are many basic electrical circuits for the power devices, a transformer, and switching
devices. The DC alteration to an AC can be attained by stored energy within the DC
source like the battery. The entire process can be done with the help of switching devices
which are constantly turned ON & OFF, and then stepping-up with the transformer.

Inverter Circuit
Diagram
The input DC voltage can be turned ON/OFF by using power devices
like MOSFETs otherwise power transistors. The changing voltage within the primary
makes an alternating voltage at resultant winding. The working of the transformer is
equivalent to an amplifier where the output can be increased from the voltage supply by
the batteries to 120 V otherwise 240 V.
There are three frequently used inverter o/p stages are, a push-pull by center tap
transformer, push-pull by half-bridge, and push-pull by the full bridge. This is most popular
because of its ease and, definite results; but, it employs a huge transformer with lower
efficiency. An easy push-pull direct current to an alternating current inverter by center tap
transformer circuit can be shown in the below figure.

Applications of Inverter
These are used in a variety of applications like tiny car adapters to the office, household
applications, as well as large-grid systems.

 Inverters can be used as an UPS-Uninterruptible power supplies

 These can be used as standalone inverters
 These can be used in solar power systems
 An inverter is the basic building block of an SMPS- switched mode power supply.
  These can be used in Centrifugal fans, pumps, mixers, extruders, test stands.
conveyors, metering pumps. and Web-handling equipment.
Thus, this is all about an overview of inverters. From the above information finally, we can
conclude that the applications of inverters range from uninterrupted power supplies to
electric motor’s speed controllers. The name inverter also refers to a group of rectifier
inverter, which is stimulated by AC & used for changing the voltage as well as the
frequency of o/p AC. Here is a question for you, what is the difference between an inverter
and UPS?

DC Power Vs AC Power
Before you can understand what an inverter or converter is, you should familiarize
yourself on the difference between DC (direct current), and AC (alternating
current) power. There are many distinctions – and we wrote an article about
them – but for the sake of simplicity, here’s what you need to know:
 AC power runs your typical household electronics. That means anything that
plugs into a wall socket is using AC power. This is the power that runs in the
electrical grid and power lines. You will most commonly see AC power in 120v or 240v
form.
DC power is the type of power stored in batteries. Anything that plugs into a USB
outlet or cigarette lighter uses DC power, and vehicles use DC power to run their
electrical systems. Anything with a battery is using DC power internally. You can
also power special made electronics like lights, water pumps and vent fans with
DC power. You will most commonly see vehicle DC power in 12v form.
Here’s where things get tricky: When you park an RV at a campsite and plug into
city power, you are using AC electricity (from the grid). When you travel off-grid
and run a camper with a battery bank you are using DC electricity (from your
batteries). Inverters and Converters allow you to switch between the two power
sources
 Converters and Inverters are mirror functions of each other
o Converters turn AC power to DC power
o Inverters turn DC power to AC power
 You need a converter to get city power into your battery bank
 You need an inverter to run your household AC electronics from the
battery bank
 An inverter/charger combines both a converter and an inverter
o The “charger” part of the name refers to a converter
 AC Power DC Power

120v Household electronics 12v Battery bank

Coffee pot Lights

Microwave Vent Fan

Hairdryer 12v Portable refrigerator

Blender Water pump

120v Household refrigerator Cell phone

Converting Power
As stated previously, you cannot charge a battery bank directly with 120v AC city
power. You need to first convert that power into 12v DC form so it can be stored
in the batteries; and that’s where converters come in.
Converters are often referred to as “chargers”, because their primary function is
to charge batteries.

Converters
Your typical RV comes with a converter built-in. These are simple, single-stage
systems which convert 120v AC power to 12v DC power and slowly charge up
your battery bank while simultaneously powering your RV.

Converters work well when you’re plugged into city power frequently. This is the
best solution when you spend all of your time at RV parks with hookups.

However, if you plan to travel off-grid often you should consider upgrading to a
smart converter (multi-stage converter) because they are more efficient.
 Smart Converter Charger

Smart converters (smart chargers)

Smart converters work just like converters, but charge batteries faster and more
completely. A smart converter will sense how full your batteries are and adjust
amperage and voltage to charge them in an efficient way.

They charge through four stages: bulk, absorption, float and equalize.

When the batteries are  depleted, a smart charger ramps up the amperage until it
gets near full capacity. Then it restricts amperages and increases voltage to top
off and balance without throwing away extra power or damaging the batteries.
This is known as multi-stage charging.

Why you should upgrade a converter to a smart converter

 Smart converters charge your battery bank faster, that is especially
useful if you’re using a generator to charge your batteries.
 Smart converters are better for your long term battery health.
 Standard converters are not compatible with lithium batteries.
 If you’ve upgraded batteries from flooded to AGM or Gel, your old
converter might be improperly charging them. This can damage the new
batteries.

Upgrading your converter

Upgrading your converter is a relatively simple process. They are normally
located underneath the AC breaker panel in an RV. We recommend these smart
converters to upgrade to:

IMAGE PRODUCT DETAILS  

CONVERTER/CHARGER Progressive  70 amp Inteli-Power CHECK
Dynamics 9200 Series CURRENT
Converter PRICE →
 Built-in Charge
 IMAGE PRODUCT DETAILS  

Wizard to recharge
to battery 90% in 2-3
hours
 Boost mode, normal
mode, storage mode

LITHIUM CONVERTER/CHARGER

 60 amp Lithium-
ion PD9160ALV
Converter/Charger
 Reverse Battery
CHECK
Progressive Protection
CURRENT
Dynamics  Battery management PRICE →
system (BMS)
 Automatic Thermal
Protection

Installing an RV smart charger

Inverting Power
If you want to go off grid and run a laptop, hairdryer, coffee pot, microwave or
anything that plugs into a standard household wall socket, you’re going to need
an inverter.

Inverters are the opposite of converters. They take 12v battery power and turn it
into 120v AC power.
Inverters are popular in van life, but they are only as good as your battery bank.
You’ll need replace the power you use with either an inverter charger,  generator,
or with solar panels and a charge controller.
Inverter/Chargers

Inverter/Charger
Inverters combined with smart converters are called inverter chargers. They can
charge your battery bank with city power and also provide power to run
household electronics from your batteries. This is the best of both worlds.

Why you should upgrade a converter to an inverter charger

 They can charge your battery bank.
 They have all of the benefits of a smart converter.
 You can use all of your electronics off-grid.
 One unit does the job of two devices.
 Most come with an automatic transfer switch so you don’t have to
manually turn them on and off like a standard inverter.
 Many inverter chargers have an automatic generator start feature. If the
batteries drop too low, the inverter will send a signal to the generator to
turn on and run until they are topped off again. This will keep the battery
bank full and the electricity flowing without a touch.
 They are compatible with all battery types.

Is an inverter necessary?
You can rely on battery power and 12v electronics when camping off-grid.
Many van lifers choose to go this route because it is simple. If you don’t have an
inverter you can still use lights, vent fans, 12v portable refrigerators or other
small electronics. You just won’t have any powered household wall sockets.

Inverter chargers are significantly more expensive than a smart converter. If you
don’t plan to do a lot of boondocking, save yourself some money and stick with a
smart converter.