What is a converter?
A voltage converter is connected to the batteries from which it receives current and on which you connect the electrical devices you wish to operate.
The voltage converter transforms the direct current stored in one or more batteries at a voltage of 12V, 24V, or 48V into alternating current at 230V.
Some converters are designed to plug into your vehicle's cigarette lighter socket to power electronic devices such as laptops, phones, camcorders, game consoles, DVD players, battery chargers, small portable tools, bottle warmers, etc. They are improperly called "cigarette lighter converters."
The most common converters are 12V and 24V to 230V converters. You can also find, especially for high-power solar and wind installations (over 1500 Wc), 48V to 230V converters.
Converter choice:
There are two main families of converters: quasi-sine converters or pure sine converters. The electrical signal emitted by a quasi-sine converter is less regular than that of a pure sine. This implies that the use of a quasi-sine converter is recommended with electrical devices that are neither inductive nor electronic: incandescent lighting, iron, coffee maker, hotplates, oven, heater, fridge, cathode ray TV...
For devices that require a regular electrical signal, such as plasma or LCD screens, computers, measuring equipment, etc., it is strongly recommended to use pure sine converters.
Determining the power of the converter:
To determine the power of the converter, there is a simple principle: the sum of the powers of the devices connected to the converter must be less than the power of the converter. So you just need to calculate the sum of the operating powers of the devices you want to connect to the converter. This power, expressed in watts, is indicated in the user manual of the electrical devices or on the devices themselves.
It is important to distinguish between operating power and starting power, which is necessary to start an electrical device. The starting power is much higher than the nominal power: up to 2 to 3 times higher. High-quality converters absorb consumption peaks up to 2 times their nominal power (for short durations). So generally this is not a problem, however, in case of doubt, it may be advisable to "oversize" the converter.
Reminder: it is recommended to minimize the cable length between the battery and the converter (less than 6m) and to respect the recommended cable section to avoid losses.