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Match Battery Amp-Hour Capacity to Your Application
Select a battery or system of batteries that will provide your Inverter/Charger with proper DC voltage
and an adequate amp-hour capacity to power your application. Even though Tripp Lite Inverter/Chargers
are highly efficient at DC-to-AC inversion, their rated output capacities are limited by the total amp-
hour capacity of connected batteries plus the output of an alternator when one is used.
• STEP 1) Determine Total Wattage Required
Add the wattage ratings of all equipment you will
connect to your Inverter/Charger. Wattage ratings
are usually listed in equipment manuals or on
nameplates. If your equipment is rated in amps,
multiply that number times AC utility voltage to
estimate watts. (Example: a ¼ in. drill requires
1.3 amps. 1.3 amps × 230 volts = 300 watts.)
NOTE: Your Inverter/Charger will operate at higher efficiencies
at about 75% - 80% of nameplate rating.
• STEP 2) Determine DC Battery Amps Required
Divide the total wattage required (from step 1, above) by the battery
voltage to determine the DC amps required.
• STEP 3) Estimate Battery Amp-Hours Required
Multiply the DC amps required (from step 2, above) by the number of
hours you estimate you will operate your equipment exclusively from
battery power before you need to recharge your batteries with utility-
or generator-supplied AC power. Compensate for inefficiency by
multiplying this number by 1.2. This will give you a rough estimate of
how many amp-hours of battery power (from one or several batteries)
you should connect to your Inverter/Charger.
NOTE: Battery amp-hour ratings are usually given for a 20-hour discharge rate. Actual amp-
hour capacities are less when batteries are discharged at faster rates. For example, batteries
discharged in 55 minutes provide only 50% of their listed amp-hour ratings, while batteries
discharged in 9 minutes provide as little as 30% of their amp-hour ratings.
• STEP 4) Estimate Battery Recharge Required
You must allow your batteries to recharge long enough to replace the
charge lost during inverter operation or else you will eventually
deplete your batteries. To estimate the minimum amount of time you
need to recharge your batteries given your application, divide your
required battery amp-hours (from step 3, above) by your Inverter/
Charger’s rated charging amps (see the Specifications section).
NOTE: For Tripp Lite Inverter/Chargers providing 1000 watts or less of continuous AC power,
a full-size battery will normally allow sufficient power for many applications before
recharging is necessary. For mobile applications, if a single battery is continuously fed by an
alternator at high idle or faster, then recharging from utility or generator power may not be
necessary. Tripp Lite Inverter/Chargers will provide adequate power for ordinary usage
within limited times without the assistance of utility or generator power. However, when
operating extremely heavy electrical loads at their peak in the absence of utility power, you
may wish to “assist your batteries” by running an auxiliary generator or vehicle engine, and
doing so at faster than normal idling.
Battery Selection
Example
Tools
300W + 220W + 20W = 540W
¼" Drill Orbital Sander
Cordless Tool
Charger
Appliances
300W + 140W + 100W = 540W
Blender Color TV Laptop Computer
540 watts ÷ 12V =
45 DC Amps
45 DC Amps ×
2 Hours Runtime ×
1.2 Inefficiency Rating =
108 Amp-Hours
108 Amp-Hours ÷
6 Amps
Inverter/Charger Rating =
18 Hours Recharge
200705102 93-2678 APSX700HF OM.qxd 8/30/2007 12:34 PM Page 4