In recent years, with the rapid growth of the solar industry, more and more people have begun to use solar panel systems, hoping to replace traditional fossil fuel power generation with solar energy. This will not only help reduce the environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions caused by power generation, but also significantly reduce energy costs.
In order to efficiently plan and implement solar panel systems, it becomes particularly important to have knowledge of electrical systems. In this article,We will introduce you to the units of physical quantities commonly used in electrical systems: milliamperes hours(mAh) and ampere-hours (Ah), and guide you in convert mAh to Ah.
Table of Contents
What is milliampere hours (mAh)?
Milliampere-hours are a measure of electricity, precisely a small-scale measure of electricity converted from the main unit of electricity, the ampere-hour (Ah). To understand how milliampere hours are calculated, we can start with the measurement of current, the current in the circuit is measured in milliampere (mA), and the running time is measured in hours (h). By multiplying these two values together, we can get the value of the milliampere-hours, as follows:
A (mA) x T (h) = E (mAh)
What is ampere hour (Ah)?
The ampere-hours is a basic unit in the field of electricity, referred to as the ampere-hours. It is calculated in this way: in the circuit, the current is measured in amperes (A), and the running time is measured in hours (h). Multiply the two together, and you can get the amperes hour, which is expressed by the formula:
A（A）×T（h）= E（Ah）
Ampere-hours are the main unit of battery power and are used much more frequently than milliampere-hours. Especially in some medium and large electrical systems, such as the battery packs of household solar panel systems, are measured in ampere-hours. However, in some specific cases, the power of the battery is also measured by milliampere-hours, such as the mobile phone power supply that we often see in our daily life, and the smaller battery, their power labeling is often the unit of milliampere-hours.
In daily life, these two units of electricity measurement will appear, in order for everyone to be able to more easily understand the relevant electrical systems, it is necessary to learn how to convert between these two units of measurement.
Why do I need to convert mAh to Ah?
Our solar calculators can help you find units of measurement that you do not know about based on known units of measurement. For example, to convert volts to amps, you only need to know the quantities volts and watts. To convert mAh to Ah, you need to understand the terms milliampere hours (mAh) and ampere-hours (Ah).
The rate at which an electric current flows is called current. It is measured in amperes and is commonly referred to as amperes. This unit of power can be reduced by three orders of magnitude, and then the unit of milliamps is obtained.
If you want to know how much current a battery can provide per hour, then you need to use the ampere-hour and milliampere-hour units. These units describe the number of amperes your battery provides before discharging. Just as amps can be converted to milliamps, Ah can also be converted to mAh, or vice versa.
However, if you have the mAh rating of the battery on hand but need to calculate its Ah value, or you may want to use an Ah to kWh calculator to get the Ah value, in these cases, you will need to convert the mAh to Ah.
How to convert milliampere hour to ampere-hour?
Once you have the definitions and sources of calculations for mAh and Ah, converting milliampere hours (mAh) to ampere-hours (Ah) becomes simple. First of all, we need to know that the milliampere-hour and ampere-hour belong to the same physical unit of measurement, and they can be converted directly between them by conversion coefficient without involving other physical quantities. The specific conversion relationship is as follows:
1mAh=0.001Ah
1Ah=1000mAh
Next, let’s explore the source of these conversion formulas. In fact, when we study the source of calculation of milliampere and ampere-hour above, we can find that their difference is that the unit of measurement of current in the circuit is different. If current is measured in milliamperes, then multiply time to get milliamperes; If the current in this circuit is measured in amperes, then multiplying by time yields ampere-hours.
As you can see, the difference between them is that milliamperes and amperes are both units of current measurement. According to the International System of Units, their conversion relationship is:
1mA=0.001A
1A = 1000mA
Therefore, the conversion between milliampere-hours and ampere-hours is also based on multiples of 1000. So when you need to convert from mAh to Ah, just divide the value of mAh by 1000; On the contrary, when converting from Ah to mAh, you need to multiply the value of Ah by 1000.
Example of convert mAh to Ah
To illustrate this transition more visually, let’s take a specific product as an example.
The 12v lithium iron phosphate battery that your neighbor recommends to you. Tells you it has a capacity of 206,000 mAh. In general, the larger the capacity of the battery, the longer the discharge time.
If you want to know how many ampere-hours this battery can provide. You can divide the mAh value (206,000) by 1,000. The result is 206. This means that the battery has a capacity of 206Ah, and this battery can provide 206 amps of current in 1 hour, or 1 amp of current in 206 hours.
Once you use a home amperage calculator or RV amperage calculator to calculate the required current flow, you can tell if this battery meets your needs.
Practical applications in solar panel systems
An important part of the solar panel system is the solar battery array, the current measurement unit will change in different circuit levels, other physical units should also change accordingly, reducing the conversion step is very important. For solar panels, ampere-hours are an important reference for purchasing solar panels, and it is common to do the conversion from milliampere-hours to ampere-hours.
The 12v lithium iron phosphate solar cell, for example, has a storage capacity of 150000mAh, which can be converted into ampere-hours by a formula to determine its suitability with the system.
That is: 150000mAh÷1000 = 150Ah
Conclusion
Although the electrical equation may seem complex at first glance, most variables are interrelated, and important specifications can be easily computed with even a small number of values. This paper clearly explains the calculation method and gives practical examples, highlighting the importance of these units in solar energy systems and for efficient energy storage and use.
If you still have questions about the concept of Solar conversion, or need further guidance, please visit Gycx Solar, we offer any additional help from picking out solar panels to completing the installation.
