Vernier data logging

This is the Logger Pro File we use to collect and analyze data from turbines in the KidWind Challenge. If you have LoggerPro, you can download this file and run it on your own computer just like we do at a KidWind Challenge.

The Vernier equipment and Logger Pro software make it really easy to simultaneously collect voltage and amperage readings from a wind turbine. With these two readings, this file can calculate the power output of your turbine in Watts or milli-Watts. Then, we run the turbine for a 60 second trial. By collecting the integral of the graph of this 60 second trial, we can get a value of how much ENERGY your turbine produced. This value will be in milli-Watt-seconds (mWs). For fun, compare that to how many Kilowatt-hours you use in a typical month at your house (check out your power bill)!

The best turbine we have ever tested at a KidWind Challenge produced 112,624 mWs of energy in a 60 second trial. At 12 cents per kilowatt-hour, this energy is worth about 0.0004 cents!

To collect data using this file, you will also need a Vernier Voltage Probe and a Current Probe.