eHow launches Android app: Get the best of eHow on the go.
What is a Solar Panel?
Thin Film Solar Modules
Solar Energy System Sizes
Grid Tie Inverters for Solar Energy
Solar Power Balance of System
Solar Energy Change Controller
Standard Inverters for Solar Energy
Battery Banks for Solar Energy
Tools for Installing Solar Energy System
Solar Panel Mounting Rails
Sealing Roof Holes With Caulk
Mounting Rails on Roof for Solar Panels
Rechecking Solar Panel Placement
Wiring for Solar Panels
Solar Panel Voltage Testing Meters
Wiring Fuses to Solar Panel DC Side
Solar Panel Cable for Transferring Electricity
Solar Energy System Fuse Box
How to Connect an Inverter for a Solar Energy System
How to Perform a Charge Test on a Solar Energy System
A solar panel is a combination of silicon, glass and aluminum. Learn about solar panels from a professiona… More
Active solar heating refers to mechanically-assisted heating systems that utilize energy from the sun as t… More
There are now a variety of reasonably priced individual solar cells available on the market, opening the w… More
To mount solar panels securely use extruded aluminum rails. Learn about mounting rails for solar panels fr… More
Do a check on the placement of the solar panel to make sure that it fits. Learn how to recheck solar panel… More
Be careful when using solar panels. Learn about saving energy in your home with natural or solar power in … More
A model of a solar panel can be a great visual aid for your science projects. Models help people to visual… More
The latest manufactures have gone to the thin film module in order to use the smallest amount of the silic… More
Many people are searching for renewable sources of energy. Using alternative energy is good for the enviro… More
Photosynthesis is the way that organisms capture energy from sunlight and translate it into potential work… More
It is important to test the voltage of the solar panel to make sure that it is putting out what was expect… More
A standard inverter tells the user when power is coming in and how much is going out. Learn about standard… More
A solar panel converts sunlight into energy, but using that energy can be slightly tricky. Using solar pan… More
Boats and RVs make great getaway vehicles, but it can be annoying when you reach a remote location and anc… More
Even an energy efficient solar home with an absolute minimum electrical demand will require a lot of power… More
Summary: It is important to test the voltage of the solar panel to make sure that it is putting out what was expected. Learn how to use a meter to test solar panel voltage from a professional in this free energy conservation video.
Roger Bacon is the owner of RGB Home Repair and Renovation in Santa Barbara California. He has experience in all phases of home repair and renovations such as plumbing, heating,...read more
"So now we've got our BX wire coming from the roof with our solar panel attached. And, we're going to test the voltage now, just to see that we've got what we think we have. Here we've got our positive and negative and we've got our volt meter set to DC power. We're reading 38.78 volts, so that's pretty close to our maximum that we expect from this style of panel. Because we can also test the amperage that comes out of this device. If you're, if you're only working with one panel like we are you can actually touch the wires together and see what kind of action you get. There's a little bit of plasma from our solar panel if you hadn't believed that solar is good, that's electricity. If we switch this over to amperage, DC Amps, we can slip our clamp meter right on top of there and we're reading at let’s see, we'll zero it out. Zero there, and short these together again and momentarily read 2.6 amps. And if we do the math, 2.6 times 38, about 70 to 90 watts is all we're getting off of here. Which seems like it's a little low on power, but temperature deratings and various things, we're still getting plenty of juice out of our panel to let us hook up our charge controller."
eHow Article: Solar Panel Voltage Testing Meters
Copyright © 1999-2009 eHow, Inc. Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the eHow Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. en-US Portions of this page are modifications based on work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License.
