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-   -   How do I read current and voltage from batteries in series and parallel arrangements? (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=808234)

  • Feb 13, 2015, 12:39 PM
    DreamDouglass
    How do I read current and voltage from batteries in series and parallel arrangements?
    I have been connecting batteries in series and parallel arrangements. For those arrangements, I used two AA Energizer batteries and copper wire. My question is concerning the resulting voltage and amperage of the arrangements. When I connected the batteries in a series arrangement, I recorded that compared to an individual battery, the voltage doubled and the amperage doubled. However, when I connected the batteries in a parallel arrangement, I recorded that this configuration made no difference in either the voltage of the amperage. These readings from my multimeter seem to contradict theoretical expectations. I wanted to know if there is anything that I may be doing wrong and how to correctly configure the batteries.
  • Feb 13, 2015, 02:51 PM
    ebaines
    Please describe the circuit. When you put the batteries in series their combined voltage doubles. If you put this higher voltage through a resistor circuit, you would expect the current flow to double, due to V=IR. When the batteries are in parallel the voltage is the same as for one battery, so from V=IR the current is the same as for one battery as well, although the contribution to current from each battery is 1/2 the amount that would come from one battery alone. These results are NOT in contradiction with "theoretical expectations."

    What you are probably confused about is the capacity of the batteries to provide current. Putting batteries in parallel increases the max current that the system can deliver. But if the current is reasonably small (because R in the V=IR formula is large), then I is small enough that one battery isn't taxed to the point where it reaches its capacity.
  • Feb 13, 2015, 02:53 PM
    ma0641
    Not sure how you are measuring amperage but with series connections, amperage will not exceed the rating of any 1 battery. Series-1.5 VDC/200ma + 1.5 VDC/200ma = 3VDC/200ma. Parallel-1.5 VDC/200ma + 1.5 VDC/200ma = 1.5VDC /400ma.
  • Feb 16, 2015, 07:03 AM
    hfcarson
    Douglass, is this an attempt to develop experiments to prove the theoretical?

    the theory you're reviewing is basic to batteries and solar panels for instance...
    In series, the voltage adds...In parallel, the current adds. Setting up a demonstration
    to show this may take some thought.

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