What is Sine Wave and Why is it Important?
Most of the electronic devices we use at home can be damaged by load shedding or power outages and it is important to know that inverters or UPS devices put out sine wave power.
13/06/2023
We can no longer rely on electricity to power our homes and so many are investing in solar panels, solar-electric systems, uninterrupted power supplies (UPS), or inverters. But there is something that is often overlooked when investing in alternative power supplies and that is sine wave. Way back before load shedding was just an occasional occurrence, I was shopping for a generator as a backup measure. During the salesman's talk about the difference between a conventional generator and a generator-inverter, he got onto the topic of sine wave and the importance that any power supply solution you buy must incorporate this to ensure that sensitive electronic devices are not damaged. To this day, I thank my lucky stars that all the solutions we purchased do indeed put out sine way power.
Janice Anderssen
A sudden shutdown to any sensitive electronic device but particularly a computer, is a danger as the regular 'shutdown sequent' is interrupted and can result in corrupted files.
What is Sine Wave?
Before you go out and purchase a power output solution to power electronic, digital, or other sensitive devices, make sure you at least understand was sine wave is all about.
Think of a power supply as having a heartbeat. Every beat is a pulse of power and if you had to view this on an oscilloscope or ECG (electrocardiograph) it would resemble a straight line with each beat reflecting as an upwards-downwards spike, as is shown below. This image displays a regular heartbeat of a healthy individual.
freepik- starline
Any defect or irregularity in a heartbeat is displayed or recorded so that the health practitioner can determine a specific problem.
Sine wave is similar in that it appears on a display as a series of waves to represent the flow of output power. When using an alternative power source to run sensitive electronic devices, the sine wave should be smooth and regular like a series of flowing waves, each exactly the same in height and width and as shown at the bottom of the image below.
Modern solid-state drives in a computer can suffer irreparable damage caused by unexpected power outages while a power surge can damage the sensitive electronics that run the computer or device.
Any irregularity in output flow is represented as a spike or irregular line or flow and this indicates that the power output is not smooth and rather dips and peaks irregularly which can be harmful to sensitive devices.
What devices require pure sine wave output?
Any newer model devices such as TVs, microwaves, refrigerators, computers, medical equipment, or any appliances that feature digital technology, and even power tools - all of these require pure sine wave power to operate without damaging components. While sine wave power may be more expensive, devices will perform better with fewer issues and no damage to sensitive electronic components.