Become an Inverter agent, reseller or Consultant. THIS IS HOW by Don Abiodun Odedeyi

Business is border-less and one way of making money is by solving people's problems.
The issue of power outage is a problem many Nigerians are seeking solution for. If the option of inverter can be sell successfully, many will be back in business, many business will be happy referring your company to their friends.

The first question to ask your client is "do you actually need an inverter"

The ideal person to buy a power inverter is someone or company who has at least 12 hours of power supply per day or has a power generator, but wants a noise free alternative. (note: the generator also charges the inverter battery while it is on)



Second question is that a power inverter is more suited for resistive loads like your household and office electronics like TVs, Computers, Printers, lights, etc. 

Power Inverters are not best with inductive loads, so if you are going to be operating lots of machines with motors in them, a generator may be better, except you can find an industrial grade inverter.

so, having satisfy these questions, the next step is to know what makes an inverter to work at home or office

The main equipment are:
1. Inverter
2. Battery
3. Solar Panel (optional)  

1. Inverter
Inverter comes in different VA. To know the right Va to buy, you need to calculate what load your total household or office is equivalent to.
For the purpose of this introduction, let's look at a typical house with the following components and their normal watts
 - Television    100w
 - fan                70w
 - bulb *3         90w
  - dvd              20w
  - decoder       20w

Total              300w

Know the VA equivalent of the power. This is usually at a power factor in division of 0.8
Hence, 

After calculating 300/0.8 = 375

Derate the power inverter so as to create some allowance for flexibility and to ensure it does not over work itself.

To derate, just multiply your total load by 2.

In the example above 2 x 375 = 750VA.
So, you will buy an inverter with a power rating of 750VA or higher.
Let’s round it up to 800VA

(to be continued)

ODEDEYI Abiodun
Business Consultant, Investment banker
Twitter @donabiodun,
abiodunodedeyi@gmail.com