We can’t live without electricity in our daily lives, but for most of you, electricity related terms such as watts, volts, amps, ohms, etc. may be unknown to you. But you don’t have to worry, in this article, we will explain the meaning of these electrical terms and their relationship with each other, hopefully you can solve your doubts by reading this article.

1. What is watt?

In electrical units. We are probably most familiar with the watt. This is because we can often hear 550 watt solar panels, 50 watt fans and a host of other terms. We all know that a 30W fan will have more wind power compared to a 50W fan. Why is this? Wattage is equivalent to the capacity that can be output by the work of an electronic device, i.e. power. And a watt is the unit of power.

As the electrons move faster through the circuit and the circuit in can deliver more electrons, the higher the wattage of the electronic device, i.e., the more power the electronic device has. In honor of the creation of the first electrical appliance, the unit of power is named after James Watt, the Scottish engineer of the steam engine.

2. What is volt?

In a solar system or other electrical system, when an electric current flows through solar panels, inverters, and solar cells, a potential difference, or voltage, is created between the input and output of these electronic devices. You can also think of it as the difference between the pressure of the water above the waterfall on the rocks and the pressure of the water below the rocks. Voltage is measured in volts, which is also known as the speed of the electronics throughout the circuit of the solar system.

The two main types of voltage in different countries are 120 volts and 240 volts. This is due to the fact that the local electrical appliances operate at different voltages. If you want to know specifically the voltage of your electronic device, you can measure it using only a voltmeter. And since the battery was invented by Italian physicist Alessandro Volt, the unit of voltage is named after him.

3. What is ampere?

An indispensable resource in our daily life is electricity. The ampere is the unit of measurement of the size of the electric current. An ampere is equivalent to the amount of resistance flowing through a wire. If you look at the electronic devices in your home, you will see the amperage. The amperage varies for different electronic devices. The higher the amperage, the more electrons will flow through the wires connected to the electronic device.

For most outlets in the home it is 20 amps or 15 amps. However, the amperage of specific electronic devices may vary and you can use the amperage to get an accurate measurement of your device. Current is important for electronic devices because if too much current passes through the device, it can cause the device to simply burn out. The unit of current is named after the French physicist André-Marie Ampere (one of the fathers of electromagnetism).

4. What is ohm?

In any electronic system, such as a solar system or a wind power system, wires are needed for connection. But the conducting material inside the wire is not a perfect conductor; most wires have cores made of copper or aluminium. These two materials transport electrons with a certain resistance that slows down the flow of electrons. This resistance is called resistance, and the unit of resistance is the ohm.

As electronic devices age, the resistance increases. When the resistance of an electronic device is too high, there is more loss of current, which may cause the electronic device to not work properly. For resistance measurements, you can use a multimeter to make specific measurements. This resistance is universal and the unit of resistance is named after the German physicist and mathematician Georg Simon Ohm due to his discovery of resistance.

5. How are they related to each other?

The watt, volt, ampere and ohm are all units of electricity. The four electrical units represent the physical quantities: the watt (W) is the unit of measurement of power (P), the volt (V) is the unit of measurement of voltage (U), the ampere (A) is the unit of measurement of current (I), and the ohm (Ω) is the unit of measurement of resistance (R). These four physical quantities can be related by providing the following equation.

P = U*I = I*R²

With this formula, when we know two of the four physical quantities of an electronic device we can calculate the other two. For example, if the label of your electronic device is damaged and you only know that the power of the device is 200W and the resistance is 10Ω, but you want to know the voltage and current of the device in order to choose the right wire, you can calculate the voltage of the device as 100V and the current as 2A by using the above formula.

Conclusion:

Watts, Volts, Amps, and Ohms are all important units of measurement for electrical physical quantities. When you begin to understand them, you will know how much power your electronic device generates, how fast electrons flow, the forces that are created during the flow of electrons, and the resistance to the flow of electrons. When it comes time to choose an electronic device again, you’ll know exactly what specifications you need.