Joule – What is it in Vaping?
Definition
A Joule is the international unit of energy used to measure how much heat your vapecoil produces when electricity passes through it. In vaping, Joules quantify the total energy delivered to your coil per puff, directly affecting vapour temperature, flavour intensity and Hit“>throat hit. Unlike wattage (which measures power per second), Joules measure cumulative energy, making them especially useful for temperature-control (TC) devices that limit heat build-up to prevent dry hits and burnt cotton. Understanding Joules helps Australian vapers fine-tune their device for consistent performance, longer coil life and safer battery usage, particularly when using stainless-steel, nickel or titanium coils in TC mode.
Technical Details
One Joule equals one Watt delivered for one second (1 J = 1 W × 1 s). Modern TC mods allow users to set a maximum Joule limit—commonly 10–120 J per puff—instead of a fixed wattage. When you press the fire button, the mod’s chipset calculates real-time resistance changes in the coil and pulses power to stay below the Joule ceiling, maintaining the target temperature (e.g., 215 °C). Lower Joule values (10–30 J) suit MTL setups with high-resistance (>1 Ω) coils and high-nicotine juice, whereas DL vapers using low-resistance (0.1–0.3 Ω) mesh coils may prefer 60–120 J to fully vaporise thick 70 VG e-juice. Firmware variations label this function as “Joule mode”, “Heat energy” or simply “TC” depending on the brand.
Usage & Tips
- Start at the lowest suggested Joule range for your coil material and increase gradually to avoid scorching your Japanese cotton.
- If you experience muted flavour or sparse vapour, raise Joules by 5–10 J rather than jumping straight to high wattage; this preserves juice capacity in the juice well and prevents flooding.
- Check that your juice channel ports remain open; restricted flow plus high Joules causes dry hits even in TC.
- Battery safety: high Joule settings draw more continuous current—ensure your 18650/21700 cells have ≥30 A continuous discharge and rotate pairs regularly.
- Lock coil resistance at room temperature so the mod calculates Joules accurately; an unstable reading leads to overheating and burnt juice taste.
History & Context
Evolv pioneered Joule control in 2014 with the DNA 40 board, giving vapers a scientific way to cap heat energy instead of relying solely on wattage. The feature quickly spread to YiHi and VooPoo chipsets, becoming a staple in Australian high-end and mainstream temperature-control mods. Today, Joule settings coexist with wattage curves and smart TC, offering precision-focused vapers an extra layer of coil protection and flavour consistency.