07-17-2018, 12:42 PM
To figure out the wattage use Ohm's Law. Take the voltage that appears across the whole candohm resistor. Using Ohms law, you can find the current through the entire candohm, Total current = Total voltage / total resistance. This gives you the current that flows through the candohm. Since the sections are in series the current will be the same through each section. Now, using the formula, Wattage = Current x Current x Resistance, you can compute the wattage for each section. This will give you a value that is close enough for government work. I usually go twice the indicated wattage for the resistor minimum, it runs cooler that way.