Inverter Technology For A Better Home Life

By Kim Ki-Wan, Managing Director, LG India

The ever-increasing demand for energy is major cause of concern for countries across the globe. Recent data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) suggests that the electricity consumption in India will grow by 7.1 per cent in the next four years. And considering the temperature rise year on year, the electricity consumption in households is expected to grow exponentially over the next few years.

In fact, global energy demand for air conditioners alone is expected to triple by 2050, according to a recent report titled ‘the future of cooling’ released by International Energy Agency (IEA). The trend is more worrying in hot countries like India where the electricity requirement for AC could reach 45 per cent in 2050, up from 10 per cent today.

In this regard, to efficiently reduce power consumption without affecting the overall performance of appliances, it is imperative to understand and invest in energy efficient technologies i.e. the inverter technology.

To understand the long-lasting impact of inverter technology, it is important to know how it works and the way it is different from the regular technology. Be its washing machines, refrigerators or air conditioners, motors and compressors are considered the heart of these Appliances.

Kim Ki-Wan, Managing Director, LG India

In a regular air conditioner, the compressor is either on or off. When on, it works to the maximum capacity and consumes electricity till the thermostat reaches the temperature level set. And when the thermostat senses that the temperature has increased, the compressor starts again. Similar is the case with refrigerators. It has a device called “Thermocouple” which senses the temperature inside the refrigerator and makes the compressor go “on” or “off” as per the temperature set in the refrigerator.

Essentially, inverter technology controls the energy and power consumption as per the requirement. The inverters change the power provided to a compressor and motor through voltage and frequency to switch their speeds at any time. To simplify it further, this works like an accelerator in a bike. When the motor needs power, it gives more and when less power, it delivers less.

It is important to note that with this technology, the compressor is always on but will only draw more or lesser power when the set temperature is achieved. This enables power output control which in turn consumes lesser energy and reduces wastage.

Air Conditioner with dual Rotary compressor ensures faster cooling and more efficiency as well as the drastic reduction in noise & vibrations. And for refrigerators, compressor automatically adjusts its speed to deliver cooling as per the quantity of food kept inside the refrigerator. The compressor then produces less vibration and 30 per cent less noise compared to any other refrigerator.

Inverter technology is nothing but an eco-friendly innovative technology that is designed for a better and smarter living. Since the compressor is always on, the start/stop cycle is eliminated thus increasing the efficiency. Quicker cooling can be attained for the desired temperature as there are no fluctuations. Since the cooling or heating is done at a sustained level and there are no voltage peaks, the life of the component is also extended.

While the advantages of inverter technology are immense, as responsible consumers it is important to adopt the new means of innovation. As this is a future-oriented technology, it is all about increasing the efficiency and reducing the power consumption which requires some standard procedures to create a sustainable environment.

For example, the recent proposed idea by the Power Ministry to set 24 degrees Celsius as the default setting for air conditioners can be considered a smart move for increasing the efficiency. Even if 50 per cent of the users adapt to the change and run the air conditioner at default setting of 24 degrees, there will be 24 per cent reduction in the energy consumption which will save up to 10 billion units of electricity.