Hello all, I'm finally ready to replace my unreliable, modified sine wave inverter with a quality unit and my numbers have me perplexed! I'm hoping y'all can shed some light on me and share your knowledge and maybe even make some recommendations!
I'm currently using a "royal power" 1500w msw 24v inverter... It's installed in my off grid cabin that is supplied by 800w of panels, an mppt controller and 465 ah 24v agm battery bank.
My calculated loads are very small. in fact, my estimated wattage with everything in the cabin on I only about 400 watts! That includes my water pump, freezer, tv, laptop, and lights! That is not taking into consideration surges or the occasional use of a vacuum cleaner or circular saw. (Which both act really weird with my current inverter)
My dilemma: I really like the idea of getting an inverter charger! I have a generator I can utilize for back up charging in case of sun issues. The idle consumption of the inverter chargers has me worried as well as the lack of smaller units available. I was looking at the aims 2000w pure sine inverter charger and it's idle consumption is roughly 60 watts! That's 1400ish watts in a 24 hour period!!!! My system is only designed to use roughly 13-1400 watts per day! I also looked at the magnum 1800 watt inverter charger and yes the idle consumption is lower but it is modified sine wave. I understand my wattage requirement are small but I do like the idea of having a big enough inverter to handle occasional tool and vacuum use. Can anyone shed some light on this subject? I would like to make a purchase before the end of the year to take advantage of the tax incentives.
