Inverter

An inverter is the component inside a portable power station, or a separate standalone unit, that converts a battery's stored direct current (DC) power into the alternating current (AC) power that standard household plugs and most electronics expect. It is what makes the AC outlets on a power station usable at all.

Inverters have two important wattage ratings: continuous wattage, which is what they can supply for sustained use, and peak or surge wattage, which is a brief higher output available for a few seconds when a device like a fridge compressor first starts. A device's running wattage can look fine on paper while its startup surge exceeds the inverter's peak rating and trips a shutdown.

When buying a power station or standalone inverter, check both figures against your most demanding device, not just its average draw, and note whether the inverter is pure sine wave, which is safer for sensitive electronics, or modified sine wave, which is cheaper but can cause issues with some devices. A common mistake is comparing battery capacity between units while ignoring very different inverter wattage limits.