The difference between inverter and converter

‍In the field of industrial power supply and power electronics, inverter and converter are two kinds of equipment that are often mentioned. 

Their names are similar and both involve electric energy conversion, so many people easily confuse them. In fact, there are essential diffe-

rences in their functional orientation, applicable scenarios and technical design, just like "translators" and "dispatchers" in the electronic 

world, each of them has his own duties and strengths.

First, the nature of function definition is different

From the perspective of core functions, the most fundamental difference between them lies in the direction and ability of electric energy 

conversion. The core duty of inverter is to convert DC to AC (DC→AC), which is equivalent to the "translator" in the electric world, conver-

ting DC output from storage batteries and photovoltaic panels into AC that meets the standards of power grid or electrical equipment. 

Its energy flow is unidirectional as a whole, and its core goal is to output stable and high-quality AC power. For example, the inverter is 

the core component in industrial off-grid power supply system and UPS standby power supply, which is responsible for converting DC 

battery power into AC power available for equipment. Converter is the "all-rounder" of electric energy conversion, which can not only 

realize AC-DC mutual conversion (AC↔DC), but also flexibly adjust voltage and frequency. It can not only rectify alternating current into 

direct current, but also reverse direct current into alternating current. At the same time, it can dynamically adjust the electric energy 

parameters according to the load demand. For example, high-speed rail traction system and industrial motor speed regulation scenes all 

need converters to flexibly schedule electric energy and adapt to different working conditions.

Second, the watershed of the application scenario

Because of the different functional positioning, the application scenarios of the two have a clear boundary, and they are good at their own 

fields in the industrial field. The main field of inverter focuses on one-way AC power supply scenario: grid-connected/off-grid power gene-

ration of photovoltaic power station, household and industrial energy storage system, UPS uninterrupted power supply, industrial standby 

power supply and so on are its typical applications. The core requirement of this kind of scene is to convert DC power into AC power stably, 

which requires high purity and stability of output waveform. Baoweite industrial pure sine wave inverter is widely used in this kind of scene 

to provide reliable AC power supply for all kinds of industrial equipment. The stage of converter is mostly in the scenes that need two-way 

electric energy conversion and dynamic adjustment: motor speed regulation of fan and water pump, traction of electric locomotive, trans-

mission of metallurgical rolling mill, electronic control system of new energy vehicle, etc. In this kind of scene, the load changes rapidly, and 

the voltage, frequency and energy flow direction need to be adjusted frequently. The converter can respond to the load change quickly and 

realize the accurate control of high-power dynamic load. Of course, there are also overlapping fields between the two. For example, in new 

energy vehicles, the inverter is used to drive the motor and the converter is used to manage the charging and discharging of the battery. In 

some optical storage integrated systems, two types of equipment will also be used to work together.

Three major differences in technical characteristics

From the design details, we can also clearly see the difference of professional division of labor between the two, which is mainly reflected in 

three aspects. The first is that the circuit structure is different. The inverter is usually a single-stage conversion structure, and the circuit design 

focuses on the inverter process from DC to AC, and the architecture is relatively simple; Most converters are multilevel topologies, which need 

to take into account many functions such as rectification, inverter, voltage regulation and frequency modulation at the same time, and the 

circuit design is more complicated. The second is that the control logic is different. The control core of inverter is the output waveform quality, 

which pursues voltage stability, low harmonics and high sine wave purity to ensure the stable operation of back-end electrical equipment. The 

control of the converter pays more attention to the dynamic response speed, which can quickly adjust the output parameters with the load 

change and adapt to the frequent fluctuation conditions. The third is the different heat dissipation design. The converter needs to switch work-

ing modes frequently to handle high-power dynamic loads, and generates more heat during the working process, so it has higher requirements 

for the cooling system than the inverter, and is usually equipped with stronger cooling structure and temperature control protection.

Generally speaking, although both inverters and converters belong to electric energy conversion equipment, their positioning is completely 

different. Simply put, if you only need to convert DC into AC to provide stable AC power supply for the equipment, you can choose the inverter; 

If two-way power conversion, motor speed regulation or flexible voltage regulation and frequency modulation are needed, you need to choose 

a converter. Knowing the difference between the two can accurately match the scene requirements and make the equipment play the best role.

If you need type selection and transformation, you can consult Baoweite for the scheme. Thank you for browsing. You can collect official website 

of Shenzhen Baoweite Power Supply Co., Ltd.