Car Power Inverter | Inverters for Your Vehicle

A power inverter for your car is an excellent device to own. It provides a huge amount of versatility because it allows you to run normal, household electronics inside your vehicle. At the most basic level of functionality it takes the DC signal from the car’s battery and turns it into a usable AC power signal, which is what common electronics need. There are two types of car power inverters that may be useful depending on the application you have in mind.

The first is a 12v inverter. These inverters plug directly into the 12 volt outlet or cigarette lighter in your car. Generally they have a smaller power capacity (a 100 watt power inverter is near the maximum wattage rating available), but are very handy for quick uses light plugging in a laptop or recharging a cell phone. For most in-car purposes, like common uses during road trips and commuting, this is the type of inverter that you’ll need. If you need to connect and power more complex electronics, you’ll want to use a power inverter that connects directly to the battery.

Because 12v inverters are usually rated for a fairly low wattage rating, they won’t allow you to run significant electronics from the 12 volt outlet. If you want to power multiple devices or more powerful electronics you’ll have to connect the inverter right to the power source. This is a slight inconvenience if you still want to operate the electronics inside your vehicle, but still easily accomplishable.

These exterior power inverters can be rated from the lowest to the highest possible power rating. Common ratings include the 300 watt power inverter, 1000 watt power inverter, and 1500 watt power inverter. Choosing the power rating that you need is entirely based upon the amount of power that will be drawn by the electronics you’re going to use. Calculate the total power (in watts) that you’ll need when running everything simultaneously and buy an inverter that can easily handle that amount.

Browse an awesome selection of car power inverters here.