if your only running an inverter every once in a while and not using for extremely long times a regular battery will do just fine, however if you are going to be using an inverter over say 1500watts on a consistent basis i would say invest in a good deep cycle battery or get a good voltage monitor for your electrical system because a deep cycle battery can tolerate being drained to far a few times as long as its recharged correctly, however a standard car battery if drained below its voltage threshold never regains its full charging capacity.