Inverter is the device that makes it possible for us to use AC loads on our solar system. The work of an inverter is to convert DC power from solar panels or batteries into AC power. AC power is what most of our appliances operate on. So how many of these AC loads can 800 watts inverter run? In this article, the power 800watt inverter can generate, and what types of appliances it can run will be discussed.
A 800 watts inverter can can power a 6 cu ft fridge, 32″ TV sets, laptops, micro wave of 500watts and lighting bulbs. But when planning to run these things off grid system, at least 150A battery is needed.
How many appliance can 800 watts inverter run.
The power of an inverter are rated in watts. Here the inverter we are looking at is 800 watts inverter. A quality 800watts inverter can run a load of 800watts or less simultaneously without tripping off or beeping alarm. 800 watts inverter will be having about 160 watts surge power limit.
To calculate the numbers of appliance a 800 watts inverter can run, you need to make sure the sum up the loads(watts) will not be greater than 800 watts. You need to check the watts of your appliance and total the number of their Watts and make sure is not above 800watts. Is more beneficial to the system to load the inverter with lesser load of it’s rating.
Here are list of essential and popular appliances that you can run on a 800 watts inverter. The appliances and their loads are listed below. When planning to use those appliances for your inverter check their ratings as it many differs.
- 6 cu ft fridge (80watts).
- 32 inches television(60watts).
- ceiling fan (70watts).
- LED light bulbs (10watts).
- laptop computer(30watts).
- blender(400watts).
- microwaves (50watts).
- Router (20watts).
The following items can be run on a 800watts inverter smoothly without the inverter breaking down. Just make sure not to load the inverter above it’s watts.
Most of the inverter manufacturer do not encourage running an inverter on a full load. To be on a safer don’t load the inverter to it full wattage. For example when using a 800 watts inverter, connect a load of 700watts maximum to it. This to be in safe side during surge and not to overload the inverter.
How long will 800watts inverter last during operation.
The time duration an inverter can last when in use depends on the power source capacity and the load connected to the inverter. The battery bank that’s is connected to the inverter will keep the inverter running till it discharge finish be for the inverter can go down. And the load connected to the inverter will determine how fast it will discharge the batteries.
For the sake of this post, we are having a 800 watts inverter with a deep cycle batteries as it’s power source. Here are how to know the capacity of deep cycle battery to connect to your 800watts and how long it will run your appliances.
For illustration, 150ah 12v battery is the capacity of battery that is connected to the 800watts inverter.
List out the loads of the appliance you wish to run on this inverter. Let’s say you want to use 32inchs television, standing fan, laptop computer and LED light bulbs. Find out the wattage of those appliances and add up their watts.
32inches television 60W.
Freezer 80W
Standing fan 30W.
Laptop computer 100W.
Five number of LED bulbs 25W
Total of those load in watts will sum up to be 295 watts.
In other to get the time the 800W inverter with 150ah 12V battery will run those appliance. Multiply the battery Ah by it volt and divided with the appliances Watts.
150ah × 12V = 1800
1800/296Watts = 6.1 hours
A 800W inverter with 150ah, 12v battery can run 295watts of power for 6 hours.
The same method used in this calculation is applicable to others system with higher or lower inverter or battery rating.
Key note from the above calculations.
When you investigate the calculation well. You will observe that to increase the operation hours of the system. You can either increase the battery bank or reduce the applied load.
Let’s take another example for better clarification.
For instance, you have a 800W inverter with 300ah, 24V battery to run 295 watts of loads. Now you want to know how long this system can run the appliances without power failure.
By using the above method of calculations.
300ah × 24V = 7200
7200/295W = 24.4 hours.
The system will run the loads for 24 hours uninterrupted.
Note: This calculated values may not be exactly in a practical life, but will always be close to the calculated values. This is because the efficiency of the system here is assumed to be 100% but no system will give you 100% efficiency in practical life.
How many batteries does 800 watts inverter needs?
The number of battery to run your 800W inverter will depend on how much load the inverter is carrying and how long you want it to run those loads.
To get the number of batteries to use for your 800watts inverter, add up the total watts of the appliances you want it to run. Divide the watts by the battery volt. And the results you get will be the battery capacity you will be needing. You can convert it to Ah for easy choosing of battery.
Let say a total load of 600watts is what you want to run on 800watts inverter for 7 hours. And you want to choose the number of batteries to run those loads.
Here are how to determine the capacity of battery you will needing.
600watts × 7 = 4200watts.
We have succeeded in getting the watts that will sustain the 600watts of load for 7 hours. The next thing is to choose the battery and determine how many batteries to choose.
Assume that we want to choose a 150ah, 12V battery but never know yet the how many of them to run our loads for 7 hours. So pay attention to see how to determine that.
Let’s convert 150ah, 12V to watts. This is done by multiplying the battery ah by its volts. 150ah × 12V = 1800 watts.
One 150ah, 12V battery give us 1800watts. But what our loads demand is 4200watts. So here we will be add up more batteries to make it watts raise to 4200w of above. So when we add 3 × 150ah, 12V we will get 5400watts.
With 3 × 150ah, 12V battery, 800watts inverter can run a load of 600W for 7 hours.
Consider the battery Rate Of Discharge( DOD) when selecting the battery to use.
check the battery discharge rate because it will not discharge all its charge when in use. Like deep cycle battery will discharge about 50% of its charges while a lithium battery will be recharged when 10 – 15% of its capacity drops. Check the battery discharge rate percentage to know the amount of energy that is accessible.
A lithium battery has about an 85% discharge rate. You can access its 85% of charge before recharging the battery. If a Lithium battery is to be used, then 150ah, 12V will give us 1530 watts. That is 85% of 1800.
so three 150ah,12v batteries will give us 4590W which can run our load for 7 hours.
So follow the following steps used here to calculate for battery to power your appliances considering the battery DOD.
Check out how many solar panels to charge your batteries
How many Amps will 800 watts inverter draw.
The amps of current 800W, 12V inverter can draw depends on the amount of load connected to it. The formula to calculate it is, divide the load that is running on the inverter with the inverter voltage. When a 800W inverter runs a load of 800W the current it draw will be
800W/12 = 66.6A.
Let’s assume a 800W inverter runs a load of 600W the current the inverter draw will be
600W/12 = 50A.
