RE: Input power measurement

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Lau, Gary by way of Terry Fritz <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <Gary.Lau-at-hp-dot-com>

Using an incandescent lamp to gauge RMS current is fine, but I don't think 
it has any application towards measuring power or Watts, the topic of this 
thread.  To measure Watts, the phase angle between the current and the 
voltage must be considered.

Gary Lau
MA, USA

=======================================================

Original poster: "John H. Couture by way of Terry Fritz 
<teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <couturejh-at-mgte-dot-com>


Steve -

There is only one way to measure TC currents or watts that is cheap and
accurate. However, it requires a little more research and on your part and a
little more understanding of what is going on in the circuits.

The solution is shown in the Tesla Coil Construction Guide. This shows how
the proper incandescent lamp can be used as a sensor to detect currents and
wattages under the harsh enviroment of Tesla coil operation. The lamp gives
you true RMS values and is not affected by waveform, frequency, power
factor, or current pulses. The non linearity problems of the lamp are
avoided by calibrating the lamp for each measurement.

There are other possibilities but all are more expensive than this method
and are usually less accurate.

John Couture

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