{"id":27045,"date":"2026-07-30T14:33:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T21:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/?p=27045"},"modified":"2026-09-14T14:59:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T21:59:54","slug":"vernier-energy-counter-troubleshooting-and-faqs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/27045","title":{"rendered":"Vernier Energy Counter Troubleshooting and FAQs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This article refers to the <a href=\"\/product\/vernier-energy-counter\/\">Vernier Energy Counter<\/a> (<nobr>VEC<\/nobr>)<br \/>Specifications and User Guide<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Vernier Energy Counter is a simple tool that measures energy generation by small generators such as those used in KidWind wind turbines, and can also be used with small solar panels such as the <a href=\"\/product\/kidwind-2v-400ma-solar-panel\/\">KidWind 2V\/400mA Solar Panel<\/a> (<nobr>KW-SP2V<\/nobr>). On a small integrated display, it displays total energy generated over 30 seconds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>General Procedure<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Connect the Vernier Energy Counter to the source of electrical energy you want to measure, by connecting the alligator clips to the wires of the energy source.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Press Start\/Reset. This turns the sensor on. After a couple of seconds, the display will change from the word Vernier to the Live View, displaying the power being generated by the energy source in Joules\/second.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Press Start\/Reset again to start data collection. The Vernier Energy Counter measures for 30 seconds, and then displays the total energy generated in Joules. <em><strong>Important: disconnect the sensor from the energy source to prevent overheating<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The screen of the Vernier Energy Sensor will remain on for 2 minutes. Record the amount of energy produced in a data table before the sensor turns off, since the information is not saved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After measuring, press the Start\/Reset button to make the sensor ready to collect data again. The Live View will return to the display. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Hardware &amp; Software requirements<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Vernier Energy Counter cannot be used with any software. It is a stand alone device with an integrated display to show measurements. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Troubleshooting<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Primary Test<\/strong>: Press the Start\/Reset button on the sensor and the display should display the Vernier logo. After a couple of seconds, it will switch to the Live View of the power produced by the energy source (small generator or solar panel) it is connected to, in J\/s.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Secondary Test<\/strong>: Connect the alligator clips to the two wires coming from your energy source. Activate the energy source (spin the generator or expose the solar panel to bright light). Check that the Live View number changes when you make the connection. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Additional Troubleshooting<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/27310\/\">My Vernier Energy Counter does not connect to Graphical Analysis or LabQuest<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/27346\/\">My Vernier Energy Counter has overheated! Now what?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/27443\/\">The Vernier Energy Counter turned off and I lost my measurement. Can I get it back?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Additional articles<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/27318\/\">Should I buy an Energy Sensor or a Vernier Energy Counter to use with KidWind?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/27342\/\">Can I use the Vernier Energy Counter with a solar panel?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Related products<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/go-direct-energy-sensor\/\">Go Direct<sup>&reg;<\/sup> Energy Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>GDX-NRG<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/vernier-energy-sensor\/\">Vernier Energy Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>VES-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/kidwind-2v-400ma-solar-panel\/\">KidWind 2V\/400mA Solar Panel<\/a> (<nobr>KW-SP2V<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/kidwind-mini-wind-turbine-with-blade-design\/\">KidWind MINI Wind Turbine with Blade Design<\/a> (<nobr>KW-MWTBD<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/kidwind-basic-wind-experiment-kit\/\">KidWind Basic Wind Experiment Kit<\/a> (<nobr>KW-BWX<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/kidwind-wind-turbine-generator-with-wires\/\">KidWind Wind Turbine Generator with Wires<\/a> (<nobr>KW-GEN3<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/high-torque-generator-with-wires\/\">High Torque Generator with Wires<\/a> (<nobr>KW-HIGEN3<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This article refers to the Specifications and User Guide The Vernier Energy Counter is a simple tool that measures energy generation by small generators such&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43901,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[5370,3916,720,7720],"class_list":["post-27045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-energy","tag-kidwind","tag-maintil","tag-vec"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43901"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27045"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27448,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27045\/revisions\/27448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}