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250 to 5000 watts PWM DC/AC 220V Power Inverter


by Nick_Zouein on April 7, 2009

Table of Contents
250 to 5000 watts PWM DC/AC 220V Power Inverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Intro: 250 to 5000 watts PWM DC/AC 220V Power Inverter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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http://www.instructables.com/id/250-to-5000-watts-PWM-DCAC-220V-Power-Inverter/

Intro: 250 to 5000 watts PWM DC/AC 220V Power Inverter


This is a heavy duty design of a Pulse Width Modulator DC/AC inverter using the chip SG3524 .
I've been using it as a backup to power up all my house when outages occur since aprox. 6 years non stop.
If you like the work and intend to build the circuit don't forget to click on the "follow" button so I know how many people benefit from the design, Thanks.
Notes:
1> The schematic circuit design is for a 250 watt output, while the pics are of my 1500 watts inverter that i built, to increase the power of the circuit you have to add more
of the Q7 and Q8 transistors in parallel, each pair you add will increase your power by 250 watts, ex: to get 750 watts of power from the inverter you need to add in
parallel 2 of Q7 and 2 of Q8 to the original design.
2> If you increase the power transistors you have to enlarge the T2 transformer to match the new needs, the circuit's transformer is rated 25 amps to handle 250 watts of
220v, for every 1 additional amp you need on the 220v side you have to increase 10 amps on the 12v side, of course there are limits to the thickness of the winding so if
you need more than 750 watts i recommend that you use a 24VDC supply instead of 12 volts:
DC voltage and Transformer "T2" winding recommendation:
Power SupplyWinding
750w 12VDC P:24V "12-0-12" / S:220V
1500w 24VDC P:48V "24-0-24" / S:220V
2250w 36VDC P:72V "36-0-36" / S:220V
3000w 48VDC P:96V "48-0-48" / S:220V
3750w 60VDC P:120V "60-0-60" / S:220V
4500w 72VDC P:144V "72-0-72" / S:220V
5250w 84VDC P:168V "84-0-84" / S:220V
* The transformer should be "center tapped" at the primary side.
** You can make the secondary 110v if needed.
*** The transformer in the pic is a custom made (48V center tapped / 220v ) 2000 watts, weights like 10 kilos.
3> R1 is to set the PWM duty cycle to 220v. Connect voltmeter to the output of your inverter and vary VR1 till the voltage reads 220V.
4> R2 is to set the frequency to 50 or 60 Hz (R2 range is between 40Hz to 75Hz), so guys that do not have a frequency meter are advised to blindly put this variable
resistor mid-way which should drop you in the range of 50~60 Hz.
If you want you can substitue the variable resistor with a fixed resistor using the following formula: F = 1.3 / (RxC)
in our case to get a 50Hz output we remove both the 100K and the variable 100K both from pin 6 and we put instead a 260K fixed resistor and we leave the 0.1uF (the
104 cap) as it is, this change should give out a fixed 50Hz as per the formula :
1.3 / (260,000 ohm x 0.0000001 farad) = 50Hz
But in reality it will not exactly give 50Hz because the 260K resistor has a specific error value margin so does the capacitor, that's why i recommend a variable resistor so
that accurate calibration can be achieved.
5> Use either tantalum or polyester film "as in pic" for the 104 caps, ceramic disc caps change value once hot and this in turn changes the frequency of the inverter so
they are not recommended.
6> Pin 10 of the SG3524 can be used to auto shut down the inverter, once a positive voltage is given instead of negative to pin10, the SG3524 will stop oscillating. This
is useful for persons wanting to add some cosmetic makeup to their inverters like overload cutoff, low battery cutoff or overheating cutoff.
7> Wiring connections on the power stage side should be thick enough to handle the huge amps drain from the batteries. I marked them with dark black on the schema
also I included a pic so you see how thick those wires must be.
8> The design does not include a battery charger since each person will be building a custom version of the inverter with specific power needs. If you are ordering a
custom made transformer you can ask them to take out for you an additional output wire on the primary side to give 14v (between point 0 and this new wire) and use it to
charge a 12v battery, of course this needs a seperate circuit to control charging auto cut-off. But anyway this is not advisable because it will shorten the life of the
transformer itself since using it as a charger will toast the enamel coating layer of the copper wires over time. Anyway .. YES can be done to reduce cost.
9> A cooling fan will be needed to reduce heat off the heat sinks and transformer, i recommend getting a 220v fan and connecting it to the output T2 transformer, when
you power up the circuit the fan will start this will always give you a simple way to know that 220v is present and everything is OK.. You can use a computer's old power
supply fan if you like.
Note that the fan must suck air out from the inverter case and NOT blow inside, so install it the correct way or it will be useless.
Also note how I fixed both the heat sinks and where the fan is, in a way that the fan sucks hot air from like a channel between the 2 heatsinks.
10> 2 circuit breakers are recommended instead of fuses, one on the DC side and one on the AC side, depending on your design
Ex: for a 24vDC ( 1500 watts design ) put a 60Amp breaker on the DC side and a 6Amp on the AC side.
For every 1amp of 220vAC you will be draining like 8 to 10 Amps from the 12v battery, make your calculations !
11> The 2 Heat sinks should be big enough to cool the transistors, they are separate and should NOT touch each other. "see the pics"
12> Important: If you're building a big design that uses more than 24VDC as power source, make sure not to supply the driver circuit with more than 24v maximum.
(EX: If you have 4 batteries 4x12 = 48v , connect the v+ supply of the driver circuit to the second battery's (+) terminal with a thin 1 mm wire which is more than enough.
this supplies the driver circuit with +24v while supplies the power transformer with +48v) "see the batteries pic example"
13> "Optional" : Deep Cycle batteries are your best choice, consider them for best results .. read more
14> Be cautious when building this circuit it involves high voltage which is lethal, any part you touch when the circuit is ON could give you a nasty painful jolt, specially
the heat-sinks, never touch them when the circuit is on to see if the transistors are hot !! I ate it several times :)
15> The optional "Low voltage warning" is already embedded in the PCB layout, you can disregard it and not install it's components if you do not need it. It does not
affect the functionality of the main circuit.
16> The Motorola 2N6277 is a durable heavy duty power transistor, it is used in many US tanks for it's reliability but unfortunately it is a very hard to find part, instead
you can substitute each 2N6277 with 2 x 2N3773 or any equivalent.
17> I've included an optional "Battery level indicator" circuit diagram that has 4 LEDs, you can see it installed on the front panel of my inverter pic, it is functioning great
and shows precisely how much juice the batteries still have. I have included a small relay that is powered by the last LED to auto shutoff the inverter once last LED is off.
18> Also included an optional "Overload circuit", it is very easy to build and can be calibrated to the desired overload current threshold cutoff point through the
potentiometer VR1.

http://www.instructables.com/id/250-to-5000-watts-PWM-DCAC-220V-Power-Inverter/

R1 is rated 5watts for inverters upto 1000 watts. For bigger versions of the inverter like 1000 to 3000 watts inverters, replace R1 (1 ohm, 5watts) with (1 ohm, 17watts)
which should handle loads upto 10 VA.
Make sure you install a proper relay to handle big current drains.
19> Please guys take your time to read and understand my notes, browse and read the posts and questions asked by others because there are many useful
information listed in replies. The main reason for me not answering your question is because it has already been asked before and answered upon.
20> It would be nice and inspiring for others if you take some photos and show us how you built your version, any additions to the circuit are mostly
welcomed to be listed here, we can all benefit from them.
21> Please click on the "I've made it" button/icon if you did build the circuit so I know how many people benefit from this design.

http://www.instructables.com/id/250-to-5000-watts-PWM-DCAC-220V-Power-Inverter/

http://www.instructables.com/id/250-to-5000-watts-PWM-DCAC-220V-Power-Inverter/

http://www.instructables.com/id/250-to-5000-watts-PWM-DCAC-220V-Power-Inverter/

http://www.instructables.com/id/250-to-5000-watts-PWM-DCAC-220V-Power-Inverter/

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Comments
50 comments Add Comment

view all 1617 comments

jawaaz.ab2 says:

Mar 30, 2015. 5:14 AM REPLY


WHat if we use RC filter after pins 14 and 11 and then to mosfet so that we can get a SInewave output..we can convert square wave into sine wave using RC
filter

Nick_Zouein says:
test it out and post us your results.

http://www.instructables.com/id/250-to-5000-watts-PWM-DCAC-220V-Power-Inverter/

Apr 1, 2015. 4:27 AM REPLY

jluga says:

Mar 8, 2015. 5:22 PM REPLY

hi nick,,
is this kind of inverter can drive a 2hp capacitor motor? or not..

hennie.gerber.3 says:

Mar 4, 2015. 4:53 AM REPLY

Hi Nick
The inverter is working but the feedback circuit does not seem to work.I have used IRF130 Mosfets with a 200Watt 36V036V Transformer.When I adjust the
Voltage pot nothing happens.So when i put load the Voltage drops from 220V to about 170 V with a 550Watt Load.

jluga says:

Mar 1, 2015. 6:42 PM REPLY

sir ur power inverter output 220v has a 0.1uf 600v n 2.2uf 400v capacitor is this a non polar cap.?

jluga says:

Mar 1, 2015. 6:42 PM REPLY

sir ur power inverter output 220v has a 0.1uf 600v n 2.2uf 400v capacitor is this a non polar cap.?

SantoC1 says:

Mar 1, 2015. 8:21 AM REPLY

hi Nick,
All devices in the home with this circuit does work in a healthy way?
refrigerator
TV
washing machine
computer
household appliances such as. Sorry bad English.

muhaimin says:

Feb 27, 2015. 11:47 AM REPLY


can someone teach me from beginning ? i would love to know, i really want to make an inveter that can use in ambulance that required 3kW but only using
12V battery, please help me out by sent into my email
muhaimin.latiff90@gmail.com

jluga says:

Feb 25, 2015. 6:44 PM REPLY


hi nick i built ur power inverter using irfp250 and it work for ligthing,tv,but not on elecrticfan why?my inverter is 1000 watts and my transformeris is 45 amps 12
volt 40ah deep cycle battery.i need ur reply pls,thanks,

gaddamvggv says:

Feb 25, 2015. 8:55 AM REPLY

What is Output Wave form is it Square or Sine ??


Can you Please post the pictures of output AC Signals ??

jluga says:

Feb 24, 2015. 8:28 PM REPLY

hi nick.can i used transistor d1047 insted of 2n6277

ainsworthl says:

Feb 19, 2015. 12:55 PM REPLY

can somebody tell where where I can order the pcb for this circuit.

Ujang4488 says:

Feb 18, 2015. 4:31 AM REPLY

IIt schematic battery charger for add in my inverter. It tested by me

Ujang4488 says:

Feb 18, 2015. 4:28 AM REPLY


Hi nick and all
Sorry for my english, thank you nick for your schematic. I'm succes building many inverter with your schematic. First inverter 2 year ago (ujang4488), and all my
inverter working perfect. This last my inverter, 20 amp transformer + feedback (using same transformer and I added 12 volt output for feedback) + battery
charger (adjust voltage with ic lm317). This all fiture only used 1 transformer.

http://www.instructables.com/id/250-to-5000-watts-PWM-DCAC-220V-Power-Inverter/

Ujang4488 says:

Feb 18, 2015. 4:29 AM REPLY

Sorry, problem networking. I cannot send pictures

anderde says:

Feb 12, 2015. 9:05 AM REPLY

hello
I need more infomation about the transformer, such as number of turns of each coil.
Thanks

amin2005 says:

Feb 12, 2015. 7:37 AM REPLY

hello man
are you have any application note for SG3524 or tc4422?
how we can control inverter's switch using micro-controller like AVR or PICs? are you have any shematic of this circuit?

lrdesigns says:

Feb 4, 2015. 8:41 AM REPLY


Hello Nick , what will be the best method to print this inventor PCB Layout you supplied, i realy want to build this inventor , have ordered parts , will like to
build it on a PCB, not perfboard

jluga says:

Feb 3, 2015. 4:19 AM REPLY

thanks nick, for ur reply and more power !! :)

kathkathmina says:

Jan 22, 2015. 12:32 AM REPLY

hi i'm making an 300W inverter based on your circuit, how will I know how many ampere the transformer is?

Nick_Zouein says:

Feb 2, 2015. 8:33 PM REPLY

15 amps

jluga says:

Jan 26, 2015. 2:57 PM REPLY


can u help me make my battery not to drain,,so that my inverter work round the clock 24 hours a day. thanks to ur reply,my email rustico.luga@yahoo.com
rustico.luga@gmail.com

Nick_Zouein says:

Feb 2, 2015. 8:31 PM REPLY


You'll need solar panels to charge your batteries for free during the day, but they will be costy. There is no other way except to recharge your batteries
from external source.

kevgsw says:

Jan 27, 2015. 8:34 AM

(removed by author or community request)

kevgsw says:

Jan 27, 2015. 8:45 AM REPLY


Is there a way to make this inverter work with a voltage multiplier and extra batteries at the power stage in place of using a transformer?

jluga says:

Jan 25, 2015. 7:38 PM REPLY


hi nick,i built ur power inverter,,and it work good,thisis my diagram it means a looping power,is it imposible my circuit is self charging,my charger can't charge
enough to my deep cycle 40ah battery..correct me if i'm wrong,i need ur reply..thanks and more power to u sir :)

http://www.instructables.com/id/250-to-5000-watts-PWM-DCAC-220V-Power-Inverter/

Nick_Zouein says:

Jan 26, 2015. 9:47 AM REPLY

Hello jluga,
No things do not work this way. A closed loop circuit will eventualy drain the battery empty, I've answered similar questions earlier.

jluga says:

Jan 25, 2015. 8:06 PM REPLY

my load are 1pc 11 watt bulb,1 fan and 1 battery charger,

instruct839 says:

Oct 21, 2014. 2:55 AM REPLY


thank you sir Nickk for sharing this good inverter. i am trying to make this one for my house using a solar but the voltage value of electrolytic capacitors are
missing and the value of bridge diode also is missing. can you please tell me what is the value of said components.. thank you

Nick_Zouein says:

Oct 29, 2014. 11:45 PM REPLY

50v

ShahF says:

Jan 19, 2015. 11:49 AM REPLY

hi nick
chould you email me on shah.faisal83@yahoo.com
Thanks in advance

Heaven can waitT says:

Jan 19, 2015. 8:01 AM REPLY


Love your design sir!. I want to make a inverter that gives like 48 V with 400 W so basically the transistors will have to be added and with V+ changed, any
other change do you think should be given here?

Heaven can waitT says:

Jan 19, 2015. 7:59 AM REPLY


Love your design sir!. I want to make a inverter that gives like 48V with 400W so basically the transistors will have to be added and with V+ changed, any
other change do you think should be given here?

http://www.instructables.com/id/250-to-5000-watts-PWM-DCAC-220V-Power-Inverter/

muffrin says:

Jan 15, 2015. 12:27 PM REPLY


mr nick this is my inverter i make it with your circuit ,my custom made transformer i wind it myself by doubling my primary wind as i told you before ,an just to let
you know that how ferite transformer wind too for it to work best i used the same method

bemsatilitys03 says:

Jan 9, 2015. 3:31 PM REPLY

OK...
Hi Nick , I could not find the part 2N6277 , but can substantivadamente equivalent of MJ10015 MJ10016 and ?

muffrin says:

Dec 30, 2014. 11:04 AM REPLY


Mr nick let i share something which i done and it work perfectly ,i didn,t have a large wire to wind my transformer 12-0-12 primary side of the tranny the wire size
was 16# what i done i parallel the 16# then i wind the pirmary side of my transformer an it work perfectly , i done this before in my experiment with other circuit
an it work good ,ok , what do you think about that ?.

Nick_Zouein says:
Strange ! I didn't know that this works. nice info.

http://www.instructables.com/id/250-to-5000-watts-PWM-DCAC-220V-Power-Inverter/

Jan 7, 2015. 10:18 PM REPLY

bemsatilitys03 says:

Jan 7, 2015. 3:56 AM REPLY

Good Day, Gentes ...


I would like to know how to find out how many volts is required for each
operation :
"250 to 5000 wallts...."
CAPACITORS :
0.1uf .... volts ?
1uF ....
10uF ....
20uf ...
47uF ...
104 = 0,01uf ....
I descupla , I am Brazilian
Thank U.

Nick_Zouein says:

Jan 7, 2015. 10:18 PM REPLY

50v

TarasG says:

Jan 2, 2015. 10:46 AM REPLY

Somebody have layout format file? If have, send me please on lawer85@inbox.ru

ulywae says:

Dec 31, 2014. 2:18 AM REPLY

woow very nice,, and I connect this circuit with optocoupler. So I do not use a small transformer

JohnA13 says:

Dec 15, 2014. 10:59 PM REPLY

Hello Nick,
Are you saying that this your circuit drawing above can handle 12 Volts, 24 Volts etc or do you another circuit drawing that can handle 24 Volts and above.
pls reply.

Emmaryooh

says:

Dec 28, 2014. 12:44 PM REPLY

says:

Dec 28, 2014. 12:44 PM REPLY

Yes.so sure

Emmaryooh
Yes.so sure

SilvioD says:

Dec 22, 2014. 3:48 PM REPLY


Yes the circuit is powered via a voltage regulator thus the control circuit works with 24 volts and possibly more. The transformer primary has to match the
working voltage though.

SilvioD says:

Dec 22, 2014. 8:47 AM REPLY


Hi Nickk I have been looking at your circuit and I plan to modify my existing inverter which has a 10-0-10 pri. and 220v sec.with tappings up to 240v with 10
volt intervals. I am using a couple of BUR 52 at my output stage which are very powerful and are giving me around 440-500watts of output power. I cannot
operate inductive loads on it as it is a square wave. Is your inverter a modified sine wave, a pure sine wave or a square wave? I am planning to use mosfets
in my output stage which are IRF 1405 which are also very powerful and rather cheap to buy. Is your circuit possible to be converted to mosfets instead of
transistors?

MohamedA19 says:
Hello Nick,
One more question, How this low battery circuit will work on more than one 12v battery.

http://www.instructables.com/id/250-to-5000-watts-PWM-DCAC-220V-Power-Inverter/

Dec 11, 2014. 3:01 AM REPLY

MohamedA19 says:

Dec 10, 2014. 11:50 PM REPLY

Hello Nick,
I need to detect the AC main for turn ON/OFF inverter, could you please suggest that how can I achieve this?

dejanb says:

Dec 4, 2014. 10:57 AM REPLY

Hello Nick! This is a great project!


Before i start to build this inverter, for my solar powered home i need information how much current inverter will draw from the battery, with no load at 220v in
1500w 24VDC version?
Best Regards!

josfemi says:

Dec 2, 2014. 10:29 AM REPLY


i never had issues with feedback as many people complain and it has greatly work for me, with little modification, nick pls i do i get the programing for the sine
wave pls

view all 1584 comments

http://www.instructables.com/id/250-to-5000-watts-PWM-DCAC-220V-Power-Inverter/

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