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Recently we have been using Vernier System equipment to quantify the power and energy output of our wind turbines, solar cells and fuel cell products. We have found this hardware and software easy to use and it provides a large amount of data for a variety of simple or complex experiments that students commonly perform.

While you can perform these same experiments with a few multimeters, or other equipment that is specifically designed for this, the Vernier System makes this data collection much more robust. To do the experiments listed below you would need some of our renewable energy gear (or similar gear) and a Vernier data logging system.

You can use any of the Vernier Products, but as we are typically using multiple sensors you might want to choose a device that allows you to attach at least 2-4 sensors at once. We have successfully used the Logger Pro, Lab Quest and the Go Link hardware with the Logger Pro software.

Depending on the experiments that you want to do you will need specific sensors. Take note of the probes you need for the experiment described. Vernier probes.

It can be challenging to measure voltage and amperage simultaneously to get a power reading. Trying to couple that power reading with a time component to calculate energy can get even more complicated. With this simple Vernier program and the probes described below you can measure voltage and current. Using this collected data you can calculate power. If you run the test for 60 seconds or some other amount of time you will produce an energy reading.

We recommend putting the wind, solar or fuel cell devices in series with a 50-200 ohm resistor.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Vernier voltage and current sensor have limits! The voltage probe cannot handle more than 10 volts and the current sensor cannot handle more than .6 amps.

Download file for Logger Pro

Devices & Electronics Required: