Inverters and refridgerator

Hi guys,
i tried searching to be sure i wasnt posting something that had been answered before but i didnt come up with anything so i'll ask my questions.

Why is it that most inverters dont do well with inductuve loads? as in fans, refridgerators and etc? is it the design cos we're thinking of getting solar panels at home but the problem is when we used inverters some years back the perfomance deteriorated quickly, and i remember being told it was because the inverter was used to power refridgerators. Is this true or is there something i'm missing?
And i live in the tropics so it gets hot, would it be possible to power and airconditioner with solar panels and an inverter?

thanks

P.S. we use 220vac here.

One common problem I have found with the cheaper simulated sine wave inverters is that many dont have the same peak voltage as a real sine wave does. They use a wider square wave. The better quality ones that have the right peak voltage usually will run most induction motor based appliances unless they too are of a lower grade of quality. Ideally the newer true sine wave inverters are whats best.

As far as running off of solar power it all comes down to cost. A lot of power takes a lot of solar panels. battery capacity and inverter size.
Because of this you will need to do a realistic analysis of what you want to run and how long you want to run it in order to find your baseline for energy storage and production.

One thing to watch out for when talking to people with off grid power systems is that unfortunately many lie their butts off about how they live a normal life just like on grid people do so be aware of that! Yes they live the normal power hungry life style as us on grid types but what they dont tell you is that they only do it for about 1 -2 hours a day or every other day. The rest of the time is candles, campfires, and sweating it out when no one else is around to show off too!

Get a true sinewave inverter. Usually a 1.5kW to 2kW unit is necessary for refrig to handle compressor starting surge and defrost cycle current. Be aware of your net power useage and battery capacity to handle your needs. Also be aware of no-load inverter current and inverter power efficiency.

Low cost modified sinewave inverters are just three discrete voltage steps, more appropriately should be called modified squarewave inverter.