About the Power Converter
Power is the rate at which energy is used: one watt is one joule per second. Appliances are rated in watts, engines in horsepower, air conditioners in tons — all the same quantity.
How it works
Everything converts through the watt.
| Unit | In watts |
|---|---|
| 1 kilowatt (kW) | 1,000 W |
| 1 megawatt (MW) | 1,000,000 W |
| 1 mechanical horsepower (hp) | 745.7 W |
| 1 metric horsepower (PS) | 735.5 W |
| 1 ton of refrigeration | 3,517 W |
- Choose the source and target units.
- Enter the value.
- Read the result, or swap to convert back.
Watts tell you the rate; multiply by hours to get energy, which is what you pay for. The energy converter handles that side.
Examples
Worked examples:
- A 150 hp car is 150 × 745.7 = 111.9 kW. In European specifications the same car is often quoted as 152 PS.
- A 2 kW heater running 3 hours uses 6 kWh — at ₹8 a unit, ₹48.
- A 1.5 ton air conditioner moves about 5.3 kW of heat, drawing roughly 1.5 kW of electricity.
Power Converter: frequently asked questions
- How many watts is one horsepower?
745.7 W for mechanical horsepower, used in the US and UK. Metric horsepower (PS), used in European car specifications, is 735.5 W — about 1.4% smaller.
- What is the difference between kW and kWh?
kW is a rate, kWh an amount of energy. A 2 kW heater running for 3 hours uses 6 kWh, and kWh is what the electricity bill charges for.
- What does a 'ton' of air conditioning mean?
It is the cooling power needed to freeze one short ton of water in 24 hours: about 3,517 W, or 12,000 BTU per hour.