Battery Selection - Tripp Lite PINV2000SWL-120 Owner's Manual

Battery Selection

Match Battery Amp-Hour Capacity to Your
Application
Select a battery or system of batteries that will provide your Inverter
with proper DC voltage and an adequate amp-hour capacity to power
your application. Even though Tripp Lite Inverters 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. Wattage ratings are typically 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 drill
requires 2.5 amps. 2.5 amps × 120 volts = 300 watts.)
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, then multiply by 1.2 to
account for conversion losses.
Step 3) Estimate Battery Amp-Hours Required
Multiply the DC amps required (from Step 2, above) by the number of
hours you estimate the equipment will operate exclusively from battery
power before recharging the batteries. This will provide an estimate of
how many battery power amp-hours (from one or several batteries) you
should connect to your Inverter.
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.
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