Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello!

I was wondering how to measure the short circuit current and open-circuit voltage of my solar cell using my multimeter for the project I am currently doing. Pleaseee help! It is due soon.

I need a reply as soon as possible...thank you!

Hi soyfia,

If you haven't already, I would recommend watching the video on our multimeter tutorial page, and reading the sections about measuring voltage and current on the How to Use a Multimeter tab: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... eroverview

That should give you the information you need.

Hey bfinio,

thanks for such a quick reply!

I watched the "How to use a multimeter" video and read the sections about measuring voltage and current on the page you gave me the link to, yet I am still unable to figure out how to measure the voltage and current of my solar cell for the project. I only found how to measure the voltage and current of a circuit.

My apologies for the inconvenience.

Thank you so much,
Sofia

soyfia - Your task is pretty simple. Your multimeter would be simply set to voltage or current and connected to the solar cell to measure open circuit voltage and short circuit current. Recently I had an occasion to do the exact measurement on a solar cell measuring about 2"x3". In bright sun I measured about 7 volts open circuit, and about 50 milliamps short circuit. Disconnect the meter while changing settings on the multimeter.

Rick Marz

Hey Rick,

that actually solved my problem. My apologies though, I'm not the brightest crayon in the box, haha. Anyways, thanks so much.


Sofia