An instrument that measures electric current.

The main types are the moving-coil ammeter, the

moving-iron ammeter, and the thermoammeter. The moving-coil instrument is a moving-coil
galvanometer fitted with a shunt to reduce its sensitivity. It can only be used for d.c., but can be
adapted for a.c. by using a rectifier. In moving-iron instruments, a piece of soft iron moves in the
magnetic field created when the current to be measured flows through a fixed coil. They can be
used with a.c. or d.c. but are less accurate (though more robust) than the moving-coil
instruments. In thermoammeters, which can also be used with a.c. or d.c., the current is passed
through a resistor, which heats up as the current passes. This is in contact with a thermocouple,
which is connected to a galvanometer. This indirect system is mainly used for measuring high
frequency a.c. In the hot-wire instrument the wire is clamped at its ends and its elongation as it is
heated causes a pointer to move over a scale.

Read more: ammeter - moving-coil, moving-iron, thermoammeter, hot-wire - Moving, Coil,
Current, Instrument, Iron, and Wire
http://science.jrank.org/pages/12008/ammeter.html#ixzz1F4cDKAxh


In even the most basic renewable energy system it is essential to monitor the charge in the battery
bank, the voltage and current coming from the generator, and the current being drawn by the power
inverter or other loads. In this article we will cover moving coil meters - the cheapest and simplest
devices for displaying current and voltage in a system.
Moving Coil Voltmeters
The simplest way of monitoring the voltage of the battery bank is a moving coil voltmeter. These are
available from around 5-10 each and can simply be wired to the positive and negative outputs of the
battery bank. They do not need their own battery power since they take a tiny current from the
batteries.


Pictured above is a 8-16 Volt DC Analogue Voltmeter which is perfect for measuring the voltage of a 12V
battery or 12V battery bank.
NEW We have an excellent top-quality 0-30VDC moving coil voltmeter for sale in the REUK Shop.
Moving Coil Ammeters
Ammeters, used to measure the current flowing into or out of the battery bank, are also available for a
wide range of different applications from micro-Amps (e.g. in solar cell experimentation) to hundreds of
Amps (e.g. in large wind turbines). Pictured below is a 0-20A moving coil ammeter.


Since the current flows into and out of the battery bank as the batteries are charged or discharged, the
most suitable renewable energy system ammeters are centred on zero - a positive reading indicates
that the batteries are being charged by the generator, and a negative reading indicates the batteries are
being discharged.


Above is a photograph of an automotive analogue ammeter which shows currents from -200 to +200
Amps. This would have limited use in most domestic renewable energy systems except with very large
wind turbine generators and multi-kW hydroelectric generators since the current range is so large -
however there are many smaller range ammeters available - e.g. -20A to +20A which would be perfect
for a small domestic wind turbine generator or solar installation.