The device that steps up the power of the vehicle's 12 or 24-volt DC current into 110 or 220-volt AC current is the:

The device that steps up the power of the vehicle's 12 or 24-volt DC current into 110 or 220-volt AC current is the:

• A. Inverter
• B. Transformer
• C. Generator
• D. Alternator

Answer: (A)

Converting stored DC power from the vehicle battery into usable AC power at a higher voltage is the job of an inverter. It takes 12 or 24 volts of DC and, through electronic switching and, often, a transformer stage, creates AC at household levels (like 110/120 or 220/230 volts). This lets you run standard AC appliances from a car battery. A transformer, by contrast, only works with AC input and cannot convert DC to AC. A generator or alternator produces electricity from mechanical energy, and in a car the alternator’s output is AC that’s rectified to DC for the battery; it isn’t supplying high-voltage AC directly from DC input. So the device that makes DC become higher-voltage AC is the inverter.

Converting stored DC power from the vehicle battery into usable AC power at a higher voltage is the job of an inverter. It takes 12 or 24 volts of DC and, through electronic switching and, often, a transformer stage, creates AC at household levels (like 110/120 or 220/230 volts). This lets you run standard AC appliances from a car battery.

A transformer, by contrast, only works with AC input and cannot convert DC to AC. A generator or alternator produces electricity from mechanical energy, and in a car the alternator’s output is AC that’s rectified to DC for the battery; it isn’t supplying high-voltage AC directly from DC input. So the device that makes DC become higher-voltage AC is the inverter.