Inverter & Power consumption

technofast

technofast

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I have a Microtek 1100VA inverter connected to a Exide Invared 500+ 150Ah battery. As I noted for the past couple of months the power consumption from this unit is around 7 units per day and roughly around 200 plus units per month. This is when the inverter is in standby mode and not charging (or maybe trickle charging). Whenever the inverter is charging after a power failure it adds up couple of more units to the perday unit. There is no power cut and the power goes off very rarely in my area. So mostly the inverter is in standby mode only throughout the month. Also I should mention that the battery is 7 years old but maintained good and still has decent backup for 4 hours or more depending upon the load. I am not sure if this power consumption is normal with any or all of the inverters with this capacity. I feel that the inverter alone is taking up too much of power consumption. Any solution to reduce the power consumption of the inverter? I do not want to invest on new battery or inverter now.
 
It's due to the transformer inside the inverter. The 1100 VA probably has a 550-850W transformer inside it which puts an active load on mains line 24/7. So you are seeing those 7 units per day usage. I removed my inverter because of this. The cost of inverter based power is too high for flat residents. If you have your own house/bungalow then you can install 3-5KW solar and connect the inverter to it.
 
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It is 325W constantly. So in case I want to change the inverter, is there any inverter that saves energy like consumer gadgets which has star ratings for energy efficiency.
 
Seven units a day is grossly excessive, that might be a defective inverter or it's been configured to charge the wrong kind of battery so it's overcharging it constantly. See if changing the battery selector switches at the back of the unit has any effect on the power draw.

I have a APC 850VA Home UPS/Inverter with a 150Ah battery and it's consuming 3 units a day with a desktop and a few WiFi routers connected to it.
 
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technofast said:
Smarteefi wifi smart plug which I had bought some time back.
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Why don't you double check with a Meco power meter?

Eliminate the variables as you go. Right now either it's a problem with the inverter, the smart plug you used or both

Do you know what 7 units a day means that too on standby? I can run my geezer seven times.

It's insanely high and I suspect the plug can't measure accurately. In other words unless your Inverter has turned into a room heater there is no way it's consuming that much.
 
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rsaeon said:
Seven units a day is grossly excessive, that might be a defective inverter or it's been configured to charge the wrong kind of battery so it's overcharging it constantly. See if changing the battery selector switches at the back of the unit has any effect on the power draw.

I have a APC 850VA Home UPS/Inverter with a 150Ah battery and it's consuming 3 units a day with a desktop and a few WiFi routers connected to it.
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Let me check that. I have it connected with couple led lights, 3 fans, desktop and few wifi routers.
blr_p said:
Why don't you double check with a Meco power meter?

Eliminate the variables as you go. Right now either it's a problem with the inverter, the smart plug you used or both

Do you know what 7 units a day means that too on standby? I can run my geezer seven times. It's insanely high and I suspect the plug can't measure accurately. In other words unless your Inverter has turned into a room heater there is no way it's consuming that much.
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It is fairly accurate. I had earlier checked this with an inverter ac, 1800Watt water heater, a non inverter ac, refiregirator etc... However I am thinking of buying a meco now to double check.
 
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technofast said:
I have a Microtek 1100VA inverter connected to a Exide Invared 500+ 150Ah battery. As I noted for the past couple of months the power consumption from this unit is around 7 units per day and roughly around 200 plus units per month. This is when the inverter is in standby mode and not charging (or maybe trickle charging). Whenever the inverter is charging after a power failure it adds up couple of more units to the perday unit. There is no power cut and the power goes off very rarely in my area. So mostly the inverter is in standby mode only throughout the month. Also I should mention that the battery is 7 years old but maintained good and still has decent backup for 4 hours or more depending upon the load. I am not sure if this power consumption is normal with any or all of the inverters with this capacity. I feel that the inverter alone is taking up too much of power consumption. Any solution to reduce the power consumption of the inverter? I do not want to invest on new battery or inverter now.
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As others have mentioned, The numbers seem to be off by a big margin. Under normal conditions, a 1100 VA inverter should add no more than 20-maybe 25 W over & above the connected load (assuming no power failure) i.e. 0.3-0.4 units a day

you should geta watt meter to test
 
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6pack said:
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4:40 the inverter consumption on standby is

30W drawn at the mains or same ballpark @superczar said above

But only 20W reaches the battery because another 10W is lost in the inverter. His inverter is only 60% efficient. You need to account for this loss also when calculating back up time from the battery.

Better ones reach 90%
 
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I called up the Microtek inverter service technician and as per him the transformer in the inverter degrades over a period of time and might pull up more power. He wanted me to buy a new inverter with an exchange offer but I am not sure if what he said is true or he was trying to make me buy a new inverter. The one I have is nine years old.

Also will the number of power points connected to an inverter make a difference in power consumption? When the power points that were connected with the inverter is turned off there is considerable reduction in the total Watt. If I switch off my desktop and check the output watt there is a reduction of around 30W and similarly it is for the other connected inverter electrical points. These readings are from the Smarteefi app and may not be accurate until I test with a watt meter but just thought about the possibility.
 
@technofast do update if you change the inverter I have a local inverter installed in my garage and it needs a replacement now.

What brand is recommended nowadays? if inverter load would be about 800-900 w
Mods may remove this question if this hijacks the thread I may create a different thread.
 
technofast said:
I called up the Microtek inverter service technician and as per him the transformer in the inverter degrades over a period of time and might pull up more power. He wanted me to buy a new inverter with an exchange offer but I am not sure if what he said is true or he was trying to make me buy a new inverter. The one I have is nine years old.

Also will the number of power points connected to an inverter make a difference in power consumption? When the power points that were connected with the inverter is turned off there is considerable reduction in the total Watt. If I switch off my desktop and check the output watt there is a reduction of around 30W and similarly it is for the other connected inverter electrical points. These readings are from the Smarteefi app and may not be accurate until I test with a watt meter but just thought about the possibility.
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Wait a second. what do you mean by off?
A powered off pc (or any unloaded electrical connection) connected to an inverter will present zero load by itself.
I seriously hope you are not trying to measure the power draw of the inverter itself without accouting for the power drawn by the connected load independently:nomouth:
 
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technofast said:
I called up the Microtek inverter service technician and as per him the transformer in the inverter degrades over a period of time and might pull up more power. He wanted me to buy a new inverter with an exchange offer but I am not sure if what he said is true or he was trying to make me buy a new inverter. The one I have is nine years old.

Also will the number of power points connected to an inverter make a difference in power consumption? When the power points that were connected with the inverter is turned off there is considerable reduction in the total Watt. If I switch off my desktop and check the output watt there is a reduction of around 30W and similarly it is for the other connected inverter electrical points. These readings are from the Smarteefi app and may not be accurate until I test with a watt meter but just thought about the possibility.
Click to expand...
If you are measuring the input power at the inverter, it will be the power consumed by the inverter + the power consumed by anything connected to the inverter even if the electrical supply is on. Everything that is connected to the inverter has power supplied by the inverter other through the batteries or the electrical grid.
 
Invared+ is easily a 5-7 year+ discontinued model.. the battery is dead and its not holding charge.. thus resulting in inverter charging it 24/7. if you touch the side of the battery you will find it might be warm to the touch and not uniform.. means " fulli hue hogi".. I'm willing to bet tthe battery is atleast 7-8 years old now.

the usual life of a battery is 3-4-5 years.. u've managed to get double that.. an inverter is not a powerhouse u buy 1 time and forgot about, buy a new battery.. ur inverter is fine.
edit: if the charging light stays ON on the inverter irresepective of any recent powetcuts u might have had.. this furhter confirms my thesis.
 
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