My previous system had a 120 volt main sump pump, and a 12 volt back-up pump in case of a power outage. With this inverter system the same pump is used, and powered by the inverter boosting 12 volts to 120 during an outage. It also keeps the battery charged and automatically switches over when necessary ( in 10 ms! ). There is an LCD screen that displays the system parameters, and an alarm sounds if a problem is detected. With regular maintenance, I feel I am well protected from the nightmare that is a flooded basement. A shout out to the vendor - After I received the 2000w unit I decided that I should also include the freezer in the loop, and the 2500w unit would be better suited. I ordered the 2500w, and they took the 2000w back - no questions asked.