Greg, I'm wondering if I need to install an inverter and whether to install a pure sine wave or modified sine wave. The main uses for it would be charging a laptop, charging various 20 v power tool batteries, and perhaps running an AC fan. Basically low load items. To keep things simple, I would not tie it into the the existing AC circuits.
I wonder if the increasing use of power conserving devices is changing how we 'wire' our boats? We got along with a couple of small portable inverters on this and our previous boat. The small inverters, 200 and 400 Watt perhaps, used to be marginal for our needs.
Laptops were often charging and we'd quickly overwhelm the inverters if we needed to charge more than one device at a time. This also resulted in heavy charging needs on the engine.
Fast forward a few years and now more of our device needs are satisfied by tablets and phones. Onboard for about a month last season, I don't think I used a laptop except to download photographs. It's battery never needed charging.
Add all LED cabin lighting and our charging needs (all alternator supplied), have dropped dramatically over a few years.
We did use the smaller 200 watt inverter to charge a few camera batteries but our feeling of freedom from 'juice' generation has vastly increased.