CA Traveler wrote:
If you mean one that runs on 12V DC inverted to 120V AC that would be rather inefficient vs a DC motor or just a AC motor.
A 120V 10A AC draw for a air conditioner would draw about 110A DC which would among other things require very large wires to the roof.
No - one with an inverter compressor as used in a ductless split system. They are much more efficient. Rather than the compressor running on a start/stop basis - with the startups drawing the most current of the entire operation - they're a DC system that throttles the speed of the compressor to match the load. My residential units could run on the smallest Harbor Freight generator they offer.
