HOW TO CALCULATE THE RATING OF INVERTER AND BATTERY

Step1:
Calculate the total power to be run on the inverter. Note that the running power is indicated on the appliances but the
starting power is more than the indicated power up to 20-30% for small appliances and 70-80% for heavy loads like
refrigerator, CRT television sets which lasts for few milliseconds so while calculating the total power add the extra
power i.e., starting power.
Basic Wattage of house hold appliances:
Fan
50-75W
CFL
18-25W
Computer
100-150W
Laptop
50-75W
Refrigerator
160-250W
Tube light
40-55W
Step 2:
Make the difference between VA and Watts. Some inverters are indicated in watts and some are indicated with VA
rating which is a trick played by the companies. The companies which are indicating the power in watts mostly doesnt
mention about the efficiency of the inverter.
Now let us know the outline difference between VA and Watts. Watts indicate the real power and VA
indicate the apparent power. In general power generating and stabilizing equipment use VA rating and power
consuming products use Watts for power rating. Watts is the real power supplied or drawn by the equipment.
Power in Watts = Power in VA - Losses
(OR)
Power in Watts = Power in VA x Efficiency of the equipment
The ratio of power in watts to the power in VA is termed as power factor
I suggest that if the rating (Watts or VA ) is not specified on the equipment please dont buy it

Step 3:
Inverter or home UPS which one to buy??????
Let us see the outline difference Home Ups and inverter. The main vital difference is the switching delay. When the
main power is off the backup power switching delay for the inverter is 100-500milliseconds and for the UPS the
switching delay is 3-5 milliseconds. The switching delay of the inverter is not recommended for electronic equipment
like modems, routers, printers etc but the switching delay of the home UPS can uninterruptedly run this electronic
equipment also.
Step 4:
In todays market we can get three types of inverters for household use:
(a) Square wave
(b) Stepped square wave inverters
(c) Pure sine wave
Digital inverters came into existence with higher efficiency which uses micro-controllers for monitoring and controlling
In the above three inverters going for pure sine wave inerter is best choice but the cost would be slightly
higher than the other two inverters. In case if you want to go for less cost then choose stepped square wave inverters.
Actually the appliances we use daily are designed for the sine wave input but when the input is stepped square wave
or square wave the appliances get heated which in turn decreases the life time of the appliance. The square wave will
show more effect on the appliances than the stepped square wave.
Step 5:
Batteries:
Choosing the correct rating of the batteries is one of the most vital thing for getting a good back-up time
NOTE: DO NOT USE AUTOMOTIVE BATTERIES. They are high cycle batteries so they can be dangerous. High
Cycle Batteries are designed for the discharge of high current for very short duration and they cannot be discharged
more than 25% of their capacity

Deep Cycle Batteries are commonly used for common applications which can discharge from 50-80% of their
capacity. These deep cycle batteries are of two types for house hold
(a)Maintenance free
(b) Tubular batteries
(a) Maintenance free batteries are the flat plate batteries which cost more than the normal lead-acid batteries. The
maximum life of this type of battery is 2-3 years. This battery should be used only where a person is unable to do
maintenance.
(b) Tubular batteries are more complex in design and more efficient and cost more than the flat plate batteries.
Choosing a good company battery is a good choice.
The batteries are available in ratings varying from 100-180 AH (100,150,180)

Many companies recommend 12V batteries but as renewable sources like solar panels will come into existence in
houses in a short period of time go for 24V batteries because solar panels are designed for 24V 48V when solar
panels are installed no need of changing anything we can directly connect to the existing system.
NOTE: Do not go for the local made batteries or the batteries given by the inverter company make a right decision by
seeing the rating, company of the battery only go for branded batteries which are popular in market like EXIDE,
AMARON etc
Warranty/Guarantee of the equipment i.e., Battery and inverter:
Note the difference between warranty and guarantee. Service and repair but not replacement at any cost comes
under warranty. Replacement of the product if there is any fault comes under guarantee. Some companies offer only
warranty and some offer both warranty and guarantee in combination so for it.
CALCULATIONS:
Battery backup time (Hrs) = [Battery voltage (V) x Battery capacity (AH) x Efficiency of inverter]/ [load (watts)]

Example:
Battery voltage (V)
= 24V
Battery capacity (AH) = 150AH
Load (watts or VA if efficiency is given on the equipment)= 2 lamps of 40W each and one fan 75 watts
=(2*40)+75=155
Starting power
Total power

=155W*starting power=(155*0.25)=38.75
=155+38.75=198.75

Inverter efficiency (generally 85%) =0.85

If the efficiency is not indicated on the inverter take efficiency as 60% because most local made inverters
are of 60% eff. Only
Backup time(Hrs)=[(24*150*0.85)/(198.75)]=15.3Hrs

But in practical the backup time maybe 10-30% less because of the surrounding temperature of the
batteries and the load duration

If the battery is drained for a long time on full load the efficiency of the battery will deplete
Safety for user:

Earth leakage protection is must for home ups and inverter as there will be earth leakage if there is no earth
leakage protection in the circuit we should arrange an ELCB generally rating of 30mA to safeguard the users from
electrical shock

Voltage stabilizer which has high/low cut off should be used. If this stabilization is not inbuilt in the inverter then
for high rating equipment like refrigerator stabilizer should be used to protect the appliance from voltage
fluctuations.
Battery capacity:
A 100Ah battery can supply 100A for one hour, 50A for 2hours, and 25A for 4 Hours by this we can understand that
duration of the backup ascends or descends based upon the current drawn. If we increase the capacity of the battery
the backup is increased.
I will provide a MS Excel spread sheet for calculation of the inverter and battery rating and backup time of the battery
in a short period of time where we can add the appliances we run on the inverter
Hope this would help you