PV Gap

Jay Said:

What is another way of saying 'making solar energy increase the power of electricity'?

We Answered:

increasing the power of solar energy

working with solar energy to increase its power

Derrick Said:

Solar Power and electricity?

We Answered:

A Volt-Ohm-Milliammeter, also known as a VOM or multimeter has a switch that sets the meter to measure voltage, resistance (ohms) or current (milliamps). Multimeters are priced from about $15 to more than $100. The more expensive ones have digital displays, more settings and more features. They are sold at Sears, Radio Shack, Home Depot, Lowes and other places.

The best way to determine solar cell output is probably to measure both the voltage and the current in the load and calculate the power from Watts = Volts X Amps. (One milliamp is 0.001 amp. You could also use a known resistance for the load and calculate power from Watts = Voltage squared / ohms or Watts = current squared X ohms. You can buy resistors at Radio Shack. You need to determine how much voltage and current the solar cell will generate and select a resistor that will draw that current when that voltage is applied. Voltage = Current X Resistance or Resistance = Voltage/Current. You also need to make sure that the expected watts won't cause the resistor to overheat. You can connect resistors in parallel and in series to withstan more watts. Four resistors of the same ohms connected two in parallel and the pair in series with the other pair of two in parallel make the same resistance as a single resistor but withstand four times the watts.

You might also think about how to determine if you various colors of light have the same brightness. If your red light is 20% brighter than your blue light, how will you know if the change is solar cell output is due to the difference in color or the difference in brightness? Light meters are sold in photographic equipment stores, but they may be pretty expensive. You might want to look on eBay.