I am planning to purchase a good inverter, and pure sine wave inverters cost about 3 times as much as modified sine wave ones of the same power. I am thinking about a 2000W continuous/4000W peak inverter 12/24VDC -> 230VAC.
Which commonly used equipment requires a pure sine wave, and what kind of equipment will be equally fine with a modified sine wave?
I am especially wondering about compressor and absorption refrigerators, dehumidifiers, electric drills, fans, microwave ovens, common power tools and kitchen tools. Purely electronic, computer and lighting equipment will not be used through this inverter, as these will have dedicated low-voltage DC-DC converters straight from the battery.
Are pure sine wave inverters any more efficient then much cheaper modified sine wave ones, in terms of input battery consumption per 230VAC output power?
Do there exist inverters which can accept a wide range of input DC voltage, for example will work on all of: 12V, 24V and 48V DC?