A long time ago, when it was early spring and nature came to life, in the article Multimeter the first clash measurement of voltage we described both what is the voltage and how we showed how to measure this size.
In this article divided in two parts, it is not so much that we will play out the subject, what will be the measurement of a completely different type: the measurement of the current flowing in the electrical circuit (in brief: current measurement). The common feature of these two measurements is the tool to which we will perform measurements, i.e. the multimeter, which today will act as an ammeter (meter for measuring current). With the electrician residential you can have the smartest deals.
This topic belongs to a collection of electrical articles, but some terms used in this article may not be known to you. In order to complete the knowledge, see the previous articles at the Electrics Academy.
What is current measurement?
This is the key question that you should know the answer to before making a measurement. Returning to the basics discussed in the articles “A few words about … electricity” ( part 1 and part 2 ), the current is the number of electrons that flows through an electrical device for a specified period of time.
Current measurement can be useful for:
Determining if the device is working properly
Knowing the current that should flow through the device (and often know this, thanks to the instructions provided with the device or thanks to the nameplate in the form of a sticker on the device), we can compare it with the actual current, which we measured using a multimeter.
If the measurement result is greater than the device manufacturer predicts, it means something is going on (rather bad). If the measurement result is smaller or even much smaller, it does not necessarily mean something bad. Many devices do not have to work at full power to function well. we will try to show it in example measurements.
Calculations of the actual power consumption of the device
The greater the current flowing through the device, the more power it has. And the more power, the bigger the bills 🙂. By measuring the current we can determine which device looks the most into our pocket. But be careful! Such calculations, resulting from the observation of current measurement, can be made only for devices that collect more or less constant current value, e.g. TV sets, fans, vacuum cleaners, mixers, electric kettles.
On the other hand, electric heater, washing machine, refrigerator, and dishwasher take a different amount of electricity depending on the needs and the moment in which the measurement is made.
Unit of measurement
The result of the current intensity is obtained in Ampere. You probably wonder how much is 1 Amper? Forgive me, but the definition of 1A in the SI units is so little digestible that we will not mention it here. As for me, it is completely detached from reality and immediately after reading it we immediately forget about it.