(And if I add a battery in?)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaic_module
I meant that…. (see above.)
Originally posted 2008-11-09 15:03:08.
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If I connect a voltmeter to a solar panel that’s in the sun, will there be a reading?
(And if I add a battery in?)
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What do you mean, if you add a battery in? Then you would be measuring the voltage of the battery.
When you say solar panel, I’m assuming it’s not a solar cell. Solar panels just collect and distribute heat. So you would read no voltage. In fact, there would be no place where it would make sense to connect the meter probes. The thing doesn’t generate electricity.
Solar cells *do* generate electricity and if you connected your meter, it would show a voltage.
Connect a voltmeter to the electrical leads of a photovoltaic cell, and you’ll read the open-circuit (unloaded) voltage of the cell, usually around 0.55V. If the cell is actively charging a battery at near its maximum power point, the voltage would drop to around 0.43V.