Scribd
Upload
963 views

Voltmeter Loading Effects

When a voltmeter or ammeter is connected in a circuit to measure voltage or current, it introduces additional resistance that alters the measurements. For voltmeters, the resistance decreases the voltage observed across the component being measured, introducing a loading error. The size of the error depends on the sensitivity of the voltmeter. For ammeters, the internal resistance increases the total circuit resistance, decreasing the actual current in the circuit and introducing an insertion error. Examples are provided to calculate these errors in different circuits and with meters of varying specifications.

Uploaded by

Ian Bagunas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
963 views

Voltmeter Loading Effects

When a voltmeter or ammeter is connected in a circuit to measure voltage or current, it introduces additional resistance that alters the measurements. For voltmeters, the resistance decreases the voltage observed across the component being measured, introducing a loading error. The size of the error depends on the sensitivity of the voltmeter. For ammeters, the internal resistance increases the total circuit resistance, decreasing the actual current in the circuit and introducing an insertion error. Examples are provided to calculate these errors in different circuits and with meters of varying specifications.

Uploaded by

Ian Bagunas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

VOLTMETER LOADING EFFECTS

When a voltmeter is used to measure the voltage across a circuit component, the voltmeter circuit itself
is in parallel with the circuit component. Since the parallel combination of two resistors is less than either
resistor alone, the resistance seen by the source is less with the voltmeter connected than without.
Therefore, the voltage across the component is less whenever the voltmeter is connected. The decrease
in voltage may be negligible or it may be appreciable, depending on the sensitivity of the voltmeter being
used. This effect is called voltmeter loading. The resulting error is called a loading error.

Example 1:

Two different voltmeters are used to measure the voltage across resistor Ra in the circuit below. The
meter are as follows:
Meter A: S= 1kΩ/V, Rm= 0.2kΩ, Range = 10V
Meter B: S=20kΩ/V, Rm=1.5kΩ, Range = 10V

Calculate:

a. Voltage across RB without any meter connected across it.


b. Voltage across RB when meter A is used.
c. Voltage across RB when meter B is used.
d. Error in voltmeter readings.
Example 2:

Find the voltage reading and the percentage of error of each reading obtained with a voltmeter on

a. Its 3V range
b. Its 10V range
c. Its 30V range
AMMETER INSERTION EFFECTS

A frequently overlooked source of error in measurement is the error caused by inserting an ammeter in a
circuit to obtain a current reading. All ammeters contain some internal resistance, which may range from
a low value for current meters capable of measuring in the ampere range to an appreciable value of 1kΩ
or greater for microammeters. Inserting an ammeter in a circuit always increases the resistance of the
circuit and, therefore, always reduces the current in the circuit. The error caused by the meter depends
on the relationship between the value of resistance in the original circuit and the value of resistance in
the ammeter.

Without ammeter:

With ammeter:
Example 3:

A current meter that has an internal resistance of 78Ω is used to measure the current through resistor Rc.
Determine the percentage of error of the reading due to the ammeter insertion.

Without ammeter:

With ammeter:

You might also like