These days, it’s incredibly important that we all stay indoors. This slows down the virus and makes sure that the virus dies out. If people are infected with COVID-19, a self-imposed quarantine keeps the virus in and prevents it from spreading further.
But we’ll all need something to keep us preoccupied during this season- whether it’s a new hobby, or having some of our appliances powered to help keep us busy.
If you own a caravan trailer or a truck, and you’d like a little variety these days, or if you’re camping out somewhere and isolating, then you definitely need an inverter.
What does an inverter do?
If you’re looking for a more in-depth discussion as to what inverters are and how they work, here’s one of our blog entries discussing it
But in a nutshell, here’s how they work: vehicles generate DC energy to power its various parts. DC energy needs to be processed before they can actually be used on our appliances and gadgets.
A power inverter converts the DC energy into AC energy that’s usable with appliances and most gadgets nowadays. But they’re not all built equally- some inverters perform better and provide “cleaner” currents than most; they’re pure sine wave inverters.
When electricity is converted using an inverter, not all of it is converted; some inverters only convert up to a small portion of it, but a pure sine wave inverter reliably converts most of it (around 90+%) to usable electricity.
This is an important factor for when you’re getting an inverter; you should always grab a pure sine wave one, which all of our inverters here at Elinz offers.
What kind of vehicles are compatible with it?
We’re all very limited in terms of travelling these days, but if you’re out in your caravan and you’re out parked in the meantime and staying isolated inside it, inverters are going to be your best friends.
Even in a regular sedan, inverters are invaluable; keeping some gadgets powered up during these times are very important after all, so that you can stay in touch with family & friends, and so that you can keep up with news all over the world.
As long as your vehicle has a working DC energy source, there’s an inverter that can fit and work with it. What it does depend on is how many appliances you need to have powered up, and how much energy an appliance or a gadget needs.
Make sure that if you do get an inverter it fits your needs. The more appliances you need powered and the higher the energy needed, the higher wattage is needed on your inverter.
What can you do with it?
If you’re out somewhere with only your vehicle, an inverter will keep your various gadgets and appliances powered. With caravans, for example: as long as you have an inverter with sufficient wattage, you’re able to keep even a television, a food processor and various other appliances powered sufficiently.
In the event of a power shortage, your vehicle can be a portable power source for the gear that you need powered up with the help of an inverter. This necessitates the importance of having an inverter, especially during days like these where it’s absolutely necessary to keep all the important electronics in your home sufficiently powered.
That counts laptops, phones, fans, wireless routers. It can even power up electric stoves or kettles, should there be power outages and you still need to cook. Most importantly, an inverter can help keep the lights on in the event of a power outage. These days, it helps to be sufficiently prepared and have your home covered for anything.
What precautions should I take when using an inverter?
Your car has a limited battery, and an inverter draws power from that. Make sure that your battery is sufficiently powered up, or that you have a spare to make sure that if your mounted one does get drained, you have something to keep your car powered in the event of an emergency.
If your current situation allows you to run your vehicle to have your alternator charge up your battery, do so but maintain social distancing rules and make sure to wash your hands before and after driving around. (Better yet, check this guide from us on how you can keep safe from COVID-19 while you’re out on the road) Maybe do this while you’re on a supply run to hit two birds with one stone?
It’s also important to have a battery charger available at all times if you have an inverter. If you somehow forget that you have some appliances plugged on the inverter and left on and it discharges your car battery, the car battery charger can jumpstart your vehicle and give it just the jolt it needs to activate the alternator enough to charge it sufficiently.
Like any piece of tech out there, amazing as they are inverters still need to be used carefully especially since they hook up to your vehicle.
What should you get along with your inverter?
As we mentioned, you need to have a car battery charger for any kind of emergency and if your car battery gets discharged from the inverter being hooked up with it. Any kind of car battery charger is sufficient for this, as long as you keep one working in your vehicle.
Here are some great car battery chargers that you can get here from Elinz.
LED light bars and strips are great when you have an inverter. If you’re a little tired of the inside of your caravan and you’re currently isolated, you can power up your LED light bars outside of your caravan and enjoy the outside for a little bit- just remember to distance socially.
Good luck, and stay safe everyone!
