Calculator #52

Ohm's Law Calculator

Enter any two of voltage, current, resistance and power. Get the other two.

About this calculator

Everything on an airfield series circuit starts here. Pick the two values you know, choose your units, and the tool solves the rest with the formulas shown. It then runs the same resistance across each CCR brightness step, so you can see how voltage and power change from B1 to full brightness.

AGL examples

One tap fills in a typical airfield case. The two CCR examples treat kVA as an equivalent resistive load.

Known Values

Values must be greater than 0. The CCR step table for the same resistance is on the next tab.

FAQ

Ohm's Law for Airfield Circuits: Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers on how the calculator solves V, I, R and P and applies them to CCR steps.

What does the Ohm's Law Calculator do?

You enter any two of voltage, current, resistance and power, choose your units, and it solves the other two with the formulas shown. It then holds the solved resistance constant and shows voltage and power at each CCR brightness step.

Which Ohm's law formulas does it use?

V = I × R, I = V ÷ R and R = V ÷ I, with power as P = V × I, P = I² × R or P = V² ÷ R. When power is one of the known values it uses forms such as I = P ÷ V, R = P ÷ I², I = √(P ÷ R) and V = √(P × R).

Why does Ohm's law matter on an airfield series circuit?

A series circuit carries the same current through every fixture, set by the CCR brightness step. The voltage the CCR must supply is that current times the total resistance, and the heat lost in the cable is I² × R. Because loss follows the square of current, it falls to about 18 % of the full-brightness value at 2.8 A on a 6.6 A circuit.

What CCR brightness steps does the step table use?

For the 6.6 A class, 5-step: 2.8, 3.4, 4.1, 5.2 and 6.6 A; 3-step: 4.8, 5.5 and 6.6 A. For the 20 A class, 5-step: 8.5, 10.3, 12.4, 15.8 and 20 A; 3-step: 14.5, 16.7 and 20 A. The table shows current, voltage, power and the percentage of full-brightness power for each step. The 6.6 A steps are the standard CCR presets. The 20 A steps are scaled from them in proportion, so confirm them against the CCR data sheet.

Can you show a worked example for cable loss?

A 4 km primary loop of #8 AWG has about 8.24 ohm of resistance at 20 °C. At 6.6 A the voltage drop is 54.38 V and the cable loss is 358.9 W. At 2.8 A (B1) the same cable drops 23.07 V and loses 64.6 W, which is 18.0 % of the full-brightness loss.

Can I use it for lamps, LED fixtures or reactive loads?

The calculator treats the circuit as purely resistive. The step table holds resistance constant, which suits cable but not lamp filaments or LED loads, whose resistance changes with current, so treat those results as a guide only. For reactive loads use impedance and power factor, for example the Series Circuit Impedance and Circuit Power Factor calculators.

How do the CCR kVA examples work?

The two CCR examples, 10 kVA at 6.6 A and 15 kVA at 20 A, treat the kVA rating as an equivalent resistive load, so the kVA value is entered as power in kW. This gives an equivalent voltage and resistance as a planning guide, not a circuit design.

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