Inverter use

[jflorey2]

Hey everyone, been a while I have posted but I'm considering putting in a small 300 watt inverter into my shed.

I'm reading that you simply divide 300 by 12 to figure out how many amps it'll draw. So 25amps at 12v. Is this correct? That seems like a lot of amp. I have a 150 watt panel and a 100ah battery. I'm trying to run a 180 watt 120v lcd 40inch tv that I got for free.

So:
150 watt panel will give you ~120 watts
PWM controller will give you about 6 amps
MPPT controller will give you about 11 amps

A 300 watt inverter will draw about 28 amps due to inefficiencies. If your TV really draws 180 watts it will take about 17 amps.

[AzSun]

25 amps @ 300 watts is close. With inverter inefficiencies it is higher, around 28 amps @80% efficiency. If the TV draws the full 180 watts, expect an inverter draw of around 17 amps.
With a fully charged battery in good condition, no other loads, no solar panel input, not abusing the battery, expect about 3 hours TV time. I have run LCD TV's with cheap square inverters and no problems. Maybe I was lucky.

[SunEagle]

I have the cheap Amazon one but I've been using it for a few years now and seem to be doing the job. I can't believe how many amps just this tv takes.

Well an inverter not designed for electronics may cause that TV damage. Also a battery that is too small may have it's life shortened if it is discharged to low. That can happen it you watch a lot of TV.

[Freeesun]

A 180 watt "free" TV may require more that the standard 300watt inverter and that 100Ah battery may not provide you enough power to run that TV for long.

By the way what type of charge controller are you using to charge that battery?

I have the cheap Amazon one but I've been using it for a few years now and seem to be doing the job. I can't believe how many amps just this tv takes.

[SunEagle]

Nobody knows this tough answer eh.

A 180 watt "free" TV may require more that the standard 300watt inverter and that 100Ah battery may not provide you enough power to run that TV for long.

By the way what type of charge controller are you using to charge that battery?

[Freeesun]

Nobody knows this tough answer eh.

[Freeesun]

Hey everyone, been a while I have posted but I'm considering putting in a small 300 watt inverter into my shed.

I'm reading that you simply divide 300 by 12 to figure out how many amps it'll draw. So 25amps at 12v. Is this correct? That seems like a lot of amp. I have a 150 watt panel and a 100ah battery. I'm trying to run a 180 watt 120v lcd 40inch tv that I got for free.