The list of electronics that usually work just fine with a modified sine wave is far too long to get into here. Suffice it to say that if it doesn’t use an AC motor, isn’t a delicate piece of medical equipment, and doesn’t fit into any of the other no-go scenarios, you’re probably going to be in the clear.

It is worth mentioning that if the device that you want to power uses a rectifier to change the AC into DC, it’s extremely unlikely that you’ll have any issues. That means your laptop is probably going to be fine, although some manufacturers claim that not using a pure sine wave inverter will shorten the operational lifespan of the laptop power brick.

One important note is that if the device you want to power up runs on DC power in the first place, like a laptop, you’re actually better off looking for a way to skip the transition from DC to AC and back to DC. If that seems complicated, it may be easier to think of it in terms of your cell phone.

When you charge your phone in your car, you don’t wire in an inverter and plug in your wall wart charger. You plug directly into your car’s cigarette lighter socket, which is both easier and more efficient. Laptops, and many other devices can also be powered directly from a DC power source in exactly this same way with the right adapter.