I have done an experiment flowing water through a turbine to see how much power can be achieved

after the testing I calculated there would be 120 volts total im trying to figure out what could 120 volts power like a light bulb etc. when im researching everything seems to be in watts. can someone explain what im doing differently.

I tested how many volts a battery had before testing then ran the tests and got the increase in voltage. can we just convert voltage to watts etc

 

How did you calculate the voltage?
Did you also measure the current? Or the torque?

power = speed x torque
power = voltage x current

 

(some text deleted for clarity)
can we just convert voltage to watts etc

No. Read this and save yourself a lot of confusion and trouble.
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/direct-current/

 

I have done an experiment flowing water through a turbine to see how much power can be achieved

after the testing I calculated there would be 120 volts total im trying to figure out what could 120 volts power like a light bulb etc. when im researching everything seems to be in watts. can someone explain what im doing differently.

I tested how many volts a battery had before testing then ran the tests and got the increase in voltage. can we just convert voltage to watts etc

Welcome to AAC.

Voltage alone is not a useful measurement when you are interested in power. To know how much power is available you have to know the voltage and the current. Volts x Amps = Watts, and that's the measure of power.

 

To give an example, 120V at 1 mA is 0.12 Watts. 120 V at 10 A is 1200W.

 

What you can expect to find is that the power produced by your generator will depend on the load placed upon it. Too little load, like only a voltmeter, and you'll see the maximum voltage but with virtually no current flowing and thus no power produced. Too large a load acts like a brake and can potentially stall the generator. But even if it stays turning, the rpm and thus voltage drops. Power is suboptimal.

Somewhere in between the extremes is an MPPT, a maximum power point, where the combination of voltage and current provides the peak power obtainable at a particular water flow rate. Solar panels usually have their MPPT when the loaded output voltage has sagged to about 90% of the unloaded voltage. I'm not sure there's a comparable rule of thumb for a turbine.