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You are here: Home / Inverter Circuits / How to Convert a Low Power Inverter to a High Power Inverter

How to Convert a Low Power Inverter to a High Power Inverter

Last Updated on October 23, 2021 by Swagatam 40 Comments

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Here we learn about a couple of simple circuit configurations which will convert any low power inverter to a massive high power inverter circuit.

You'll find a plenty of small and medium sized inverters in the market ranging from 100 to 500 watts, the same may be seen posted in this blog. Upgrading or converting such small or medium power inverters into massive high power inverter in the order of kvas may look quite a daunting and complex, but actually it's not.

Analyzing Inverter Topologies

All inverter topologies basically incorporate an oscillator frequency which is then amplified using power devices to high current levels before dumping into the step-up transformer for the final voltage boosting procedures.

The current amplifier stage which employs high current devices is where the upgrade needs to be done in order to achieve any desired power outputs from an inverter.

The modern day inveters heavily rely on mosfets for the above mentioned power conversion stage, nevertheless BJTs can be also used for the same very effectively, in fact much reliably than mosfets...

How to Upgrade Low Power to High Power

The following diagram shows a simple and very effective power output stage which can be integrated with any totem pole IC outputs such as IC 4047, IC TL494, IC SG3525, IC 4017 (clocked with IC555), for acquiring upto 1.5kva conversions.

The key devices in the circuit are the combination of the TIP122 and TIP35 which become a high gain, high current transistor pair, capable of boosting current to the rated massive levels instantly.

Each such device module is rated to produce at least 30 x 24 = 720 watts, so by adding more such modules in parallel any desired kva range can be anticipated from the configuration

Using Power BJTs

Using BJTs could be very reliable and simpler but quiet bulky, if space is your problem and need the upgrade from low to high power inverter in the most compact way, then mosfets becomes the popular choice and may be wired as shown in the following diagram:

The input is derived again from any totem pole IC outputs, the MOSFETs could be rated as per the desired upgrade from lower to the highest magnitudes.

The diode integration suggests a simple PWM insertion which is optional, but could be used if a modified sine wave output intended to be included in the upgrade.

Adding MOSFETs in Parallel

The above explained ideas for upgrading a low power inverer circuit to a higher power version can be implemented to any desired level, simply by adding several MOSFETs in parallel.

Adding MOSFETs in parallel is actually easier than adding BJT in parallel. It's just about connecting the all the drains, and all the sources together, and then joining all the gates together through individual 10 ohms resistors.

Upgrading Transformer and the Battery

MOSFETs are like switches, which means that only by upgrading the MOSFETs will only bolster the switching part to handle higher wattage and current. However, to actually achieve the desired high output wattage, the transformer and the battery rating will also need to be upgraded accordingly.

For example, if the a 100 watt inverter is upgraded to 500 watts, then the along with the MOSFETs, the battery Ah and the transformer wattage will also need to be increased to the intended 3 times or higher values.

The above explained simple strategies would be enough to enable you to upgrade, or modify, or convert any small or low power inverter design into a high power inverter circuit with the desired wattage specs.

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About Swagatam

I am an electronic engineer (dipIETE ), hobbyist, inventor, schematic/PCB designer, manufacturer. I am also the founder of the website: https://www.homemade-circuits.com/, where I love sharing my innovative circuit ideas and tutorials.
If you have any circuit related query, you may interact through comments, I'll be most happy to help!

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  1. Olaitan says

    June 16, 2022 at 6:49 pm

    If a high ampere battery, say 200ah is connected to 100watts rated Inverter, will it destroy the inverter?

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      June 16, 2022 at 7:58 pm

      No it will not, the high Ah rating will not matter as long as the battery voltage is as per the inverter specifications.

      Reply
  2. Chukwuma says

    February 16, 2022 at 2:48 am

    Sir pls, how can i convert my 1kw inverter to 4kw using irf3205

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      February 16, 2022 at 11:14 am

      Chukwuma, Please see the last circuit, you can implement that for your application. You will need at least 5 to 7 parallel mosfets on each channel, and a 36 V or 48 V battery

      Reply
      • Alan says

        June 30, 2022 at 2:43 pm

        How will this impact an inverter rated for 12V if you boost the power output of a 1Kw to say 3Kw. Will connecting a 24V battery be possible.

        Reply
        • Swagatam says

          June 30, 2022 at 4:23 pm

          You can divide the wattage by the battery voltage that will tell you how much current will be required for the mosfets to handle and for the battery/transformer to deliver.

          Reply
          • Alan says

            July 2, 2022 at 11:08 pm

            Currently the Inverter has 4xG40N60 (40Amp 600Volts) at 12Volts. I intend to replace these with 4xFGH40N60SMDF (80amp 600Volts). Transformer will be 24V 150Amps. Will I need to reinforce the tracks on the PCB to prevent them from burning up due to the higher power output.

            Reply
            • Swagatam says

              July 3, 2022 at 9:05 am

              Yes you should reinforce the tracks with layers of solder or copper wires to ensure it is able to handle the high current

              Reply
  3. Gustaf Henning says

    November 24, 2021 at 4:40 pm

    Hi there.
    Love your site. I want to know , how can I upgrade my 800w inverter to 1500w – samlex
    And my 1000w inverter to 2000w – Fivestar

    It is for my 2 seperate households

    I am using your upgrade of the 300w, but upgrading 4 times. I will give my feedback. 🙂

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      November 24, 2021 at 5:47 pm

      Hi, thanks for liking my site, appreciate it. You can try adding more number of mosfets in parallel, at least 5 more in parallel to the existing ones, and also upgrade the battery Ah rating accordingly.

      Reply
  4. Sammy Little Moose says

    August 21, 2021 at 8:23 pm

    The world is in chaos. Climate change is Rampant. One of the proposed solutions is changing from fossil fuels to electrical powered vehicles, however such power use to charge batteries poses a further strain on our already stressed power grid system. Nikola Tesla patented a process for extracting electricity from the aether. In the book Les Brown Pyramids is described a similar system for extracting electricity. We intend to conduct experiments to determine if this is a possibility. If we are successful we will need inverters to convert high voltage DC to 110 and 220, three leg alternating current sufficient to run an individual household, ideally dual 5000 kilowatt systems designed to provide backup in case of failure of the primary system. The components need to have a low operating temperature below 0 degrees Centigrade. Can you provide information on modifying your systems to provide these parameters. The contemplated input voltage would be 330 volts to provide for an up to 220 volts pure sine wave inverter.

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      August 22, 2021 at 11:03 am

      I am sorry I don’t think I will be able to do it, i can only suggest general inverter concepts, the specialized ones are beyond the scope of my expertise!

      Reply
  5. Felix Elizeche says

    March 26, 2021 at 5:03 am

    Saludos,,,,,,Ing. preguntó cuánto sería la resistencia que debo de usar en las salidas del ci 4047 en pin 10 y 11…..hay un Rango estimado o es diferente para un Bjt y el mosfet..

    Reply
    • Swag says

      March 26, 2021 at 1:39 pm

      Greetings, if you are using MOSFETS then the 4017 output resistors is not critical, can be any value between 1k ohm, and 10k ohm

      Reply
  6. rick hayes says

    March 26, 2021 at 4:55 am

    can i plug a 1000 watt transformer into my 200watt flashfish generator. if i can then the 1000 watts can be used to make coffee.

    Reply
    • Swag says

      March 26, 2021 at 10:50 am

      You can only if the voltage specs of the 1000 W is similar to the existing 200 W system…

      Reply
  7. Karstein Eriksen says

    January 27, 2021 at 3:34 am

    Sir! <thank you for your excellent site 🙂
    I hope you can help me, I have a bunch of 230/12V 23A transformers, I'm planning to use 3 in parallel to make a 900W inverter based on your 500W inverter design. Unfortunately the transformers don't have a mid tap, they are 2 wire. I also have a bunch of IXQT13N10P, can I use them in parallel? If not, I do have some K2837 and some IRF3205PBF, can I use any (or some?) of these in combination or parallel to archive my goal? I'm planning to use a 24V battery bank of lead-acid batteries consisting of equal 12V batteries in series/paralell (or would 12V be easier)?

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      January 27, 2021 at 5:48 pm

      Hello Karstein, yes paralleling may be possible but only at the primary side, not on the 220V side. Before that try with a single transformer to confirm the working, using the following concept:

      Simplest Full Bridge Inverter Circuit

      The MOSFeT should be exactly as suggested in the above link, other FETs can be tried if they have exactly matching specs.

      Reply
  8. Sunshine says

    August 15, 2020 at 8:20 pm

    Good day sir..Engr. There is a foreign inverter Ferrite core transformer…the out high voltage 310VDC complete, but the switching system, for load regulator is not working, please can you help with a circuit that could switch the MOSFET at the out put stage….please help me….
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      August 16, 2020 at 9:20 am

      Hi Sunshine, if you referring to the oscillator section, then probably you can use the IC 4047. Adjust its output to 100 kHz, feed the frequency to the MOSFETs, then gradually reduce it until you get the most optimal result from the inverter.

      Reply
  9. Japie says

    July 28, 2020 at 12:29 am

    Hi
    I want to built 3.5kva 48v to 2220v sinewave inverter can you assist with the part lis and cicuirts board

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      July 28, 2020 at 1:45 pm

      You will need a 80 amp 48 V transformer….many IRF3205 mosfets an the IC 4047 oscillator circuit.

      the basic design will be as given below:

      500 Watt Inverter Circuit with Battery Charger

      Reply
  10. olatunji says

    October 5, 2018 at 12:52 pm

    sir. i have a 200w inverter which is not design with ics. so pls sir can u explain how i can connect it with the above circuit. cos i see its connected to the ICS here.. am still a fresher in electronics though

    Reply
    • Swag says

      October 5, 2018 at 1:44 pm

      Olatunji, if you are already having a fully working inverter then you can simply check the output power devices and replace them with more powerful devices. No need of making the improvements suggested in the above article.

      I am sure your inverter would be using mosfets for the power devices, you just have locate them and replace them with more powerful mosfets, as per your desired specifications.

      And yes, this would work only if your transformer and battery are also accordingly upgraded.

      Reply
  11. Edward Martin says

    March 15, 2018 at 12:14 pm

    I tried to post my question but it seems like it didn’t post.
    Dear please provide me a circuit which can be used after my 150v DC smps to control/vary voltage and limit current….volt/current adjustable.

    Thank you..!

    Reply
    • Swag says

      March 15, 2018 at 2:10 pm

      You can try the following circuit,

      https://www.homemade-circuits.com/0-300v-variable-voltage-current/

      ignore and eliminate everything that’s on left side of C1

      Reply
      • olatunji says

        October 7, 2018 at 5:23 am

        sir please how can i connect a relay in the inverter so that it can automatically switch to the mains when the mains is on,and ratings of the relay. 200w inverter

        Reply
        • Swag says

          October 7, 2018 at 11:35 am

          olatunji, you can follow the following concept

          https://www.homemade-circuits.com/how-to-convert-inverter-to-ups/

          Reply
  12. abioye says

    February 22, 2018 at 6:56 pm

    sir i wish we have a kind and honest person like you in our country to enlighten novice like me in my country too
    All thanks to your quick and fast reply i am able to turn my small ups into a 3000watt pure sine wave inverter within two weeks i pray the lord shall always strengthen you to continue the good work of yours
    sir i nose around for months but your site is the king of site sir i mean the best i wish more people like you will stand up to enlight
    more people like me thanks

    Reply
    • Swag says

      February 23, 2018 at 11:20 am

      You are most welcome abioye, please keep visiting my site, and keep up the good work

      Reply
  13. Master Mind says

    November 17, 2016 at 5:30 pm

    Sir please explain the way you calculated power? 30*24=720 How?

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      November 18, 2016 at 4:19 am

      30 is the voltage that possibly may be used for powering the inverter and the 24 is the max current rating of the transistor.

      Reply
  14. Chinonso Ukpabi says

    October 25, 2015 at 12:17 pm

    How many volt should i apply to the collector of that bc547 must it be 12volt?

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      October 25, 2015 at 3:04 pm

      yes it must be 12V, and the trafo center tap must be separately powered with the battery positive if it's higher than 12V

      Reply
  15. Azam Higgins says

    June 7, 2015 at 3:32 pm

    Hi if I was to use you circuit as stated above would the original transformer in the 300w inverter work of I was to modify it to plus minus 800w

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      June 8, 2015 at 9:26 am

      Hi, how can a 300watt transformer produce 800 watts, sorry that's not possible.

      Reply
  16. MUHAMMED ADIO says

    October 30, 2014 at 11:10 am

    good day sir, i so much appreciate all your work in this blog, may God continue to guide you. please i need a complete circuit diagram for 1.2 KVa pure or modified sine wave inverter with inbuilt charging section.

    thanks

    Reply
    • Swagatam says

      October 31, 2014 at 11:51 am

      thanks Muhammed, just integrate a 4047 oscillator circuit with the mosfet power stage as explained above, you would be able to achieve the required specs instantly

      Reply
      • Moses says

        February 21, 2022 at 6:40 pm

        If I have 500w inverter already and wish to convert to 2000w. How does the mosfets multiply to achieve that. e.g two of such mosfets in parallel will give what… And again is it any mosfet at all or to be chosen according to current and voltage handling capacities.

        Reply
        • Swagatam says

          February 22, 2022 at 9:01 am

          You can refer to the following article to know all the details regarding how to upgrade the mosfets, transformer and the battery for increasing the inverter wattage:

          https://www.homemade-circuits.com/how-to-calculate-and-match-inverter/

          Reply

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