Week 10
It's week 10 😱!! For this week's group assignment, it required us to measure the power consumption of an output device.
Power consumption
Power consumption is the rate at which energy is consumed by a device and is commonly measured in watts (W) or milliwatts (mW). It is a very crucial part of determining the energy efficiency and performance of electrical or electronic devices.
To measure the power consumption of an output device, we will be using a multimeter. With the use of a multimeter, we will be able to find out its voltage and current, from which we will be able to derive its power from the formula below.
Power (in watts, W) = Voltage (V) × Current (A)
Power Consumption of an LED
For the week's group assignment, we will be measuring the power consumption of an LED.
Components required
Multimeter with an Ammeter function
Power source (such as a battery or power supply)
LED setup (LEDs, resistors, and connecting wires)
Lets set up the components now!
Voltage consumption
To measure the voltage, the multimeter probes must be connected parallel to the circuit. Make sure to turn the multimeter dial to DC Voltage (⎓ V or just V with straight and dotted line). Connect the negative(black) probe to the Red probe ground and the positive(red) probe to the positive side of the device.
Here are the results, which is 5.03 Volts.
You can also measure the volatge consumption between the resistor and the LED individually as well, which should add to give a sum of the overall voltage of the circuit which is 5.03 volts.
To measure the voltage of the resistor, just place the multimeter probes between the 2 points of the resistor. It gives a result of 3.14 volts.
Do the same with the LED. It is giving 1.89 volts.
1.89 + 3.14 = 5.03
From here, we can confirm that the results we got for the overall voltage of the circuit is true.
Current consumption
To measure the current consumption, we must connect the multimeter probes in serial connection, meaning the multimeter must be a part of the circuit.
The result we got is 12.42 mA (or 0.01242 A).
Result
Now we work just put the values in the formula and calculate!
Voltage (V) × Current (A) = Power
5.3V × 0.01242A = ~0.0658 W (or ~66 mW)
Reflection
We were able to learn a lot through this assignment. We faced a lot of difficulties in measuring the voltage and current in the beginning due to some issues with out multimeter so we had to switch it up. By learning how to measure the power consumption of our output devices, it will help us while working with our final project components as well.