The wattmeter measures the watts of electrical current.
The wattmeter is the device that allows the measurement of the watts in a current of electricity. Watt, also known as watt , is the unit of measurement that is equivalent to one joule per second and is used to measure power .
Wattmeters are composed of a moving coil (the voltmetric coil ) and two fixed coils (the amperometric coils ). The voltmetric coil is connected to the electrical circuit in parallel, while the amperometric coils have a series connection .
How a wattmeter works
When electric current circulates through the amperometric coils, an electromagnetic field is produced that has a power proportional to the current. The voltmeter coil, for its part, has a resistance that allows the current that circulates through it to be minimized. Through a needle located on the voltmeter coil, the wattmeter indicates the power of the circuit .
It is important to mention that overloading can damage the wattmeter coils, making measurements no longer accurate. Depending on the current , voltage and power factor, the overheating will be lower or higher.
An overload can damage a wattmeter.
Other information of interest
Other information worth knowing about the device is the following:
- What the amperometric coil or ammeter does directly is measure the intensity of the electric current . The unit of measurement used is the ampere and then also other submeasurements such as the milliampere or even the microampere. It has a parallel resistance called a shunt .
- Being able to know the origin of the unexpected rise or fall of a piece of equipment is one of the main functions of the ammeter , which is also used to repair current surges that are causing a system to malfunction.
- The voltmeter coil is also known as a voltmeter and its mission is to measure the voltage value. Where appropriate, the volt ( V ) is used as the main unit of measurement, but other measurements can also be used. These include the kilovolt ( KV ), the microvolt and the millivot ( mV ), for example.
- The frequency range of an electronic wattmeter can reach up to 20 megahertz. To achieve this, pentode tubes must be used, which would replace the more "traditional" triodes.
- Currently, the wattmeter is very frequently used by professionals who carry out connections to the WiFi network.
Types of wattmeters
It should be noted that there are basically two types of wattmeters: the analog wattmeter and the digital wattmeter .
An electronic wattmeter , on the other hand, is known as an instrument that can store energy to sustain a field of electricity . It has conductive plates separated from each other by vacuum or a dielectric type material. When placed before a potential difference, the plates of the electronic wattmeter acquire negative and positive electrical charges (depending on the plate), although the changes in the total charge are zero.