Tutorial: Variable Voltage vs. Variable Wattage for E-cigs

Introduction to Variable Voltage vs. Variable Wattage for E-cigs

There is a lot of confusion between variable voltage vs. variable wattage for e-cigs. Both variable voltage and variable wattage are technologies that control the power output delivered to your e-juice delivery device like atomizer, cartomizer, or clearomizer. If you are unfamiliar with different types of e-liquid delivery devices be sure to check out our Tutorial: Atomizer vs. Cartomizer vs. Clearomizer. Some people prefer variable voltage to variable wattage, and in most cases it boils down to skill level and the level of control you want when vaping. Although, variable voltage and variable wattage control power output of your battery, they achieve the same result in a different way.

The choice between variable voltage and variable wattage comes into play if your tend to switch between different types, brands and models of atomizers, cartomizers, and clearmizers. As you know from our previous tutorials, different type, brands, and models come with different resistance levels of coils. To achieve desired power output while using a variable voltage battery you will need to know the resistance level of your e-juice delivery device. Using the Vaping Power Chart and the resistance level (in Ohms) you will need to cross-reference or calculate appropriate voltage to achieve desired power output or wattage. With variable wattage feature resistance level of a coil is calculated automatically by a microprocessor of electronic cigarette. There is no need to use Vaping Power Chart or do calculations by hand. However, it is important to mentions that after some period of time you will most likely know the desired settings (voltage or wattage) by heart.

Example of Variable Voltage vs. Variable Wattage for E-cigs

To help you better understand the difference between the two features, we will use a car analogy. Some of the newer cars have a feature called Automatic Terrain Response (ATR), which basically means that a car will automatically adjust settings depending on conditions you are driving in. If you are driving on a highway, it will lower your suspension and prioritize RPMs to torque. If you are driving off-road, it will raise your suspension and prioritize torque to RPMs. In this example we are comparing terrain (highway or off-road) to resistance level of your atomizer, cartomizer, or clearomizer. Similar to cars with Automatic Terrain Response, electronic cigarettes with variable wattage will automatically measure resistance level of your e-juice delivery device to deliver desired power output. You don't need to think or know the resistance level to achieve desired result. In cars without Automatic Terrain Response (ATR) you will need to make these decisions yourself depending on conditions you drive in. With variable voltage you will need to know the resistance level of your e-juice delivery device to achieve desired power output. So think of e-cigarettes with variable voltage as cars without ATR, and e-cigarettes with variable wattage as cars with ATR.