Which resistor is used for higher wattage?
Which resistor is used for higher wattage?
Carbon resistors, for example, are commonly made in wattage ratings of 1/8 (0.125)W, 1/4 (0.250)W, 1/2 (0.5)W, 1W, and 2 Watts. Generally speaking the larger their physical size the higher its wattage rating….The Resistor Power Triangle.
| Type | Power Rating | Stability |
|---|---|---|
| Wirewound | High up to 500 Watts | High 1% |
What is a high power resistor?
The power rating of a resistor defines how much power a resistor can safely handle before it begins to suffer permanent damage. Most electronics applications use low-power resistors, typically 1/8th watt or less. High-power resistors are rated at 1 watt or better, including kilowatt range.
How do I make a high wattage resistor?
Yes, you can make a high power resistor from multiple low power ones. The simplest way to do this is to put them all either in series or all in parallel. With N resistors in series, make each 1/N the total desired resistance. Similarly, with N resistors in parallel, make each N times the desired resistance.
How many watts can a resistor handle?
The power rating of a resistor is the specification given with a resistor that serves to tell the maximum amount of power that the resistor can withstand. Thus, if a resistor has a power rating of ¼ Watts, ¼ Watts is the maximum amount of power that should be fed into the resistor.
How does a power resistor work?
A resistor works by restricting the flow of current, it can do this in one of three ways: firstly, by using a less conductive material, secondly by making the conductive material thinner and finally by making the conductive material longer.
What can I use instead of a resistor?
Because of this, even a good electrical conductor, such as metal wire, can be used as a resistor. Resistance can be adjusted by limiting how thick the wire is, and by increasing or decreasing the conductive path through the wire. Resistance can also be controlled by wire material.
Can I use a 2 watt resistor instead of 1 watt?
You can almost always use the larger wattage resistor. There are cases with high-speed circuits where you have to select a resistor with lower capacitance or inductance or even changes in resistance vs temp. But, in general, bigger is fine except it take more board space, and costs more.
Can you use higher resistor?
The cases where using a higher value resistor will damage a circuit exist, but are a bit less usual than the cases where it may simply produce a weaker result than desired, or a different frequency response than desired.
How do you determine the wattage of a resistor?
Determine resistor wattage. If you want to know wattage of a resistor, you will need to know the voltage (V) and the current (known as I). This is called Ohm’s law. The multiplication formula is voltage multiplied by current, expressed as W=V X I. . Sometimes you will see the formula written with a P for power.
What is the wattage or tolerance rating of a resistor?
The power rating of a resistor is the specification given with a resistor that serves to tell the maximum amount of power that the resistor can withstand. Thus, if a resistor has a power rating of 1/4 watts , 1/4 watts is the maximum amount of power that should be fed into the resistor.
What is the importance of the wattage of a resistor?
This is why resistors are given power ratings- to specify the maximum allowable amount of power that can pass through it . If this wattage of power is exceeded, the resistor may not be able to withstand the power and may melt and can create a short in a circuit, which can lead to even greater hazards for the circuit.
What does the wattage mean on a resistor?
Wattage means how much power the physical resistor is rated to handle. The rating is always for given conditions, such as the ambient temperature, or when mounted on a heat sink. You determine the power in a resistor by computing the voltage across times the current thru it.
