We have heard so much noise on inverters and how efficient they can be in providing alternative power in the absence of stable power supply.

Can we have those who have experiment those inverters tell us their experiences to guide new and intending users in making an informed choice.

Thanks as you share your experience.

i enjoy my inverter cuz i knw how well to manage the battery cuz thats d main thing hardly put on my gen except i need to utilize bigger appliances
here r sum few tips for managing your battery
1. whenever ur inverter battery status is low, pls shut it down n switch to gen
2.if its new, batterries mmust be fully charged
3. know fully well that every drain reduces the battery life n wen its draind it needs 2 b fully charged
4. Never load more than 70% of battry capacity
5. if one or 2 batteries r damaged its better u change the whole thin.

first: for 1.5KVA inverter = u need at least 2.5KVA gen to charge it. that's what i have currently.

the first response is 100% correct.

Do not allow it to go off by itself cos it weakens the battery.

Equivalent load on inverter to Gen should be: i better pass = 1.5KVA inverter + 1 battery.

so do the maths in adding load to ur inverter.

its good, efficient, no-noise, cheaper (on the long run), but you must have a generator before u can get an inverter cos u cannot rely on NEPA to charge ur inverter even though NEPA charges it faster.

Cost: 1.5KVA (N25,000) + 1 battery (30,000) + installation (7,500) = N62,500.

then 2.5KVA gen (standby) **wink**

Good luck.

I forgot to add that fully charged 1 battery with minimum load can last up to 8hrs.

we charge the inverter from 6.pm with Gen to 11.p.m., then use it from 11.pm to 7.00 a.m the next morning (3 fans and 1 bulb).

thank God for the inverter, my children cannot sleep without light, instead of using gen overnight, we use inverter overnight. saves me fuel cost for 8hrs (abt 6litrs of fuel =N600 using jerrycan)

@SUV,

Thanks so much for your analysis, its incisive.

From your analysis i can see you are really enjoying the inverter and would like to give such testimony too in the nearest future.

Can you let us know the type of inverter you use and the likely source to get such in the event we want to?.

There is nothing wrong in helping to flaunt a good product.

Thanks.

I will look at the specs very well when i get home.

but we bought from Gaoxinqui (end of Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos). its a 1.5KVA and the battery (sorry i need to confirm the rand name as well. i will give u the full details tomorrow.

if u use it well, u will enjoy it.

Nice tips on inverters here but remember the length of time the battery lasts depends on the load and type of load. Its not advisable to connect a ups to an inverter neither is it advisable to connect a sound system and then increase the music to some real high sound. Its also good to inculcate energy saving practices - when in the kitchen put the light on and when you leave put it of not you put on 1 bulb in the kitchen and another in the parlor and another in the toilet and another in the room then you go outside to gist with your neighbour.

Hello Guys, Is it possible for me to use Inverter with my Fridge Freezer, 3 bulbs and 3 fans?, Like how many Kva  inverter plus battery will i need. Thanks

i've been using inverter for the past 3years. the 1st one got spoilt due to my carelessness, i bought a new one cos nobody could repair it at Alaba int'l. the 2nd one that i'm using now is a small one. 500watts with 100amps battery. i bought the inverter for 8k while the battery for 22k. i ues it every night for fan alone, & it has been helpful. i put it on from 11pm to 7am when i'm leav'n the house.

Inverters were not really meant to support fridge but some do use it.

targus:

Hello Guys, Is it possible for me to use Inverter with my Fridge Freezer, 3 bulbs and 3 fans?, Like how many Kva  inverter plus battery will i need. Thanks

Sure as hell

Like how many KVA will you recomend if i were to use it for my fridge and with how many battery?

otokx:

Inverters were not really meant to support fridge but some do use it.

But can they support A/C, I find it really d'fcult 2 sleep without A/C. If they can, what range do I buy as in KVA. Thanks.

SUV:

first: for 1.5KVA inverter = u need at least 2.5KVA gen to charge it. that's what i have currently.

the first response is 100% correct.

Do not allow it to go off by itself cos it weakens the battery.

Equivalent load on inverter to Gen should be: i better pass = 1.5KVA inverter + 1 battery.

so do the maths in adding load to your inverter.

its good, efficient, no-noise, cheaper (on the long run), but you must have a generator before u can get an inverter cos u cannot rely on NEPA to charge your inverter even though NEPA charges it faster.

Cost: 1.5KVA (N25,000) + 1 battery (30,000) + installation (7,500) = N62,500.

then 2.5KVA gen (standby) **wink**

Good luck.

Lovely analysis

The one here at my office is 40KVA and carries 2 split units in our server room.  I have seen a 5KVA carry a 1.5hp window unit a/c though.

Inverter is one of the best things we bought early this year in our office. From the little experience i have gathered over the last 5 months, I think, it is worthwhile for every household. However, my advise to any intending user of inverter is that;  always go for new batteries notwithstanding the cost, you will enjoy using it. Ever since ours was installed, we rarely buy fuel for Generator, there is no generator noise again. My office is located around a central business district, they hardly bring light during official hours for reason(s) best known to them (PHCN) but, there is always light in the night and most weekend. this help keeps our inverter charged all the time. Inverter is very useful in an area like this. You can try it out and I know you'll appreciate it.

Does anybody in the house know how much a 5kva inverter goes for? and does it also come with the charge controller? Thanks

Please which brand of inverter will all contributors on this tread recommend?

Inverter in 9ja? once you go that way, you will never want Generator again!, ever!!

Yeah, its that good provided you do your calculations very well and you have to be disciplined in the usage thats the keyword here.
I have used a 1.5KVA inverter for the last 3 years w/out as simply as looking at the device for one day, why? because it simply WORKS!!,  The only way I know there is no powere is when the Ac goes off and the fridge stops humming too. I don't even have a gen set cos my area here in Abuja has relatively 6 hrs of Nepa power daily which is very convenient to charge the unit.  My set up consist of:
1 (one) 1.5 KVA Pure Sine wave Inveter (Make is Mopower, an Indian company) Got it for 75k in 2008
4( four) 100 mah Deep cycle batteries-- Got 2 initially at 25k each and months later added extra 2 at 20k each

Thats the set up and the load on it includes a 32'' LCD TV, A 1000Watt  Home theater (you don't blast it at full volume when using inverter oo! ), A Sony PS3, Fans, Laptops, DSTV, about 4 energy bulbs (Buy original OSRAM bulbs, they are expensive, about 600 for a 10watt but they have lasted 3 yrs now, and still going strong!).
This unit lasts through out the day for me, honestly i can count how many times I have heard it bleep and run totally flat! and that is on occasions when there had been no nepa for about 2 days!!!.

Inverters are quite, eco-friendly, Very Efficient, the light is always better than NEPA cos its gives out a complete 220V,  very very cheap when you consider the long term benefits of it. I mean I must have saved more than 200K in the last 2 years if I was still using my 2.5kva gen, which by the way i have sent to the village!!
I can go on and on about the benefits here men!,  you don't have to rush out to go allthe way to the backyard to pull the Gen when Nepa strikes in the middle of that very interesting program on TV LOL!, Its Fully automatic!

The Only downside i see is the initial investment, but come on, some good gen sets cost much more than that! Plus you can do like i did, start with maybe one battery but it most be deep cycle to fully enjoy it- then you can gently be increasing your battery bank b'coos the more battery you have, the more online time you will get out of your setup.

One love people,

i use a 5kv inverter at home and we have like 4big batteries  the cost of the inverter was 185k and 100amps of battery cost 22,000 each making 273,000 and the company where i got it is SANKIL NIG LIMITED somewhere at oluti

Nortel:

Please which brand of inverter will all contributors on this tread recommend?

Here is a very good inverter sold in Lagos. http://buyright.biz/categorylanding/c134

I recommended a friend to get the Mopower which I had but I think he got the china version and it didn't go well for him so he later got this. Its an European company and the product is super nice with smart displays for you to be able to actually manage the setup very well. But be advised though that you need to calculate the load you plan putting on it to know exactly how many KVA you are buying just like the first response here said, don't exceed 70% battery capacity of your inverter,  Make you no go aloow shildren plug Iron enter for 500 watt inverter ooo  lol!
Cheers man!

Check Apice Group,they have the best battery and the major distributors of UPS and Inverter for most of the bank.There office is located at anthony.Also bluesea is another good battery producer,its cheaper than apice battery sha oooooo.They also install and maintain .

I strongly agree that NAIRALAND is an ONLINE BEER PARLOUR.  I can't do without it even if I was vexed by some uncouth posts by some people. Sometimes you will can get a very healthy and informative discussion going on (like this inverter topic) , in other time they will start going along either ethnic, religious, geographical lines.
I just love NAIRALAND

SUV:

first: for 1.5KVA inverter = u need at least 2.5KVA gen to charge it. that's what i have currently.

the first response is 100% correct.

Do not allow it to go off by itself cos it weakens the battery.

Equivalent load on inverter to Gen should be: i better pass = 1.5KVA inverter + 1 battery.

so do the maths in adding load to your inverter.

its good, efficient, no-noise, cheaper (on the long run), but you must have a generator before u can get an inverter cos u cannot rely on NEPA to charge your inverter even though NEPA charges it faster.

Cost: 1.5KVA (N25,000) + 1 battery (30,000) + installation (7,500) = N62,500.

then 2.5KVA gen (standby) **wink**

Good luck.

Good information and cheaper compared to the other dealers, please lets know the Capacity of the battery in 'Ah'  and the voltage in 'V'
also i will like to know what the duration is like before it discharges completely. Thanks

Please try Genus Inverter, you will enjoy it. It is available at Simba motorcycle yard Acme Road ,Ikeja. or Eric moore Surulere lagos.

nice!

so chuck and SUV, how long do you think these inverters will last . . or the batteries?

in short, what's the lifespan?

. . and what kinda load will a 5KVA inverter carry?

This is quite an interesting topic, thanks for all the Valuable contributions, as per the question if there is inverters that can actually power Airconditioners, there are inverters that can power AC but if you want it to support for longer hours, it must be sized really bigger than the Inverter so that at the end the loading will not be more than 25% at the end but mind you thats alot of Naira, but if you can afford it, it pays over time.

I have experiment with 2.5KVA Sukam Inverter to power 2HP split AC for about two hours (Shut it down afterwards without the Inverter running down) and it did support it but without any other load, the loading from the read out from the inverter unit shows about 80% loading which is not adviceable, but in my case then I needed to power this unit to charge gas into it, so I had no option then, but for you to be able to use if for longer periods you will need to oversize it to be able to accomodate it and some other household stuffs.

Very Important is the use of geniune Energy saving bulbs not just any white light called energy saver

Except they are sized in a way that your intended load does not exceed 25-30% of the inverter rated loading you might not be bale to use it for long hours which might defeat the purpose, but if you can afford it, the advantages out runs the cost even in just a year.

kokoye:

nice!

so chuck and SUV, how long do you think these inverters will last . . or the batteries?

in short, what's the lifespan?

The inverter is like your normal stabilizer which can last quite longer except if the coil perhaps get circuited, but there is normally a fuse than can prevent the wrong current going in. The major issue to consider when buying an inverter is the deep cycle batteries, most of the ones you find in the market are low quality from China, if you can get any good EU standard deep cycle battery then you will have no problem. Some of the types you have in the market dont last morethan 6 months before loosing power easily after full charge (many State govt street lights use them), while quality batteries lasts up to 3 years or more depending on use, the batteries can also be serviced.
The inverters from India are known to do better than the rest (try Genus), while 100Ah deep cycle batteries from the US or EU lasts longer .

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kokoye:

nice!

so chuck and SUV, how long do you think these inverters will last . . or the batteries?

in short, what's the lifespan?

I believe guyman02 has given you a good response. The inverter is just an electronic device and with good maintenance can last for as long as possible. Most come with the charging unit inbuilt and this may have issues but once your input is good and steady, it seldom develops issues.

Your deep cycle batteries are the ones that have a lifespan which depends on alot of factors like charge-discharge lifespan, quality, and how you maintain it. If you notice your batteries don't hold much charge like it used to, you may start thinking of getting new ones. Mine are made by Sukam and they are still very OK having used for over 3 yrs now.