Power converter
Convert power between W, kW, MW and mechanical horsepower (745.699872 W). Example: 150 hp is 111.854981 kW; 1 kW is 1.341022 hp.
What to know
The power page offers four units: watt, kilowatt, megawatt and horsepower. Values pass through watts: 1 kW = 1,000 W, 1 MW = 1,000,000 W and 1 hp = 745.699872 W.
The horsepower is the mechanical (imperial) unit of 550 foot-pounds per second, not the metric PS or CV of about 735.5 W. Worked example: a 150 hp engine delivers 150 x 745.699872 / 1000 = 111.854981 kW, and 1 kW converts back to 1.341022 hp.
Scale comparisons are easy at the top end: a 2 MW wind turbine is 2,000 kW, and a 3 kW kettle draws 3,000 W. The default pair is W to kW.
Power is a rate, and energy is a total. To get kWh you multiply kW by hours, for example a 1.5 kW heater over 4 hours equals 6 kWh, which you can then convert on the energy page.
Everyday figures help calibrate. A laptop charger of 65 W is 0.065 kW, a hair dryer of 1,800 W is 1.8 kW, and a small car engine of 70 kW is about 93.871546 hp. That last figure is the one to compare against a car catalogue.
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How to use Power converter
- Type 150 in the Value field.
- Select hp in From and kW in To.
- Read the Result line, which shows 111.854981 kW.
- Switch To to W to see 111,854.9808 W for the same engine.
Quick answers
How many kW is 100 hp?
74.569987 kW, from 100 x 745.699872 / 1000.
Is this the metric horsepower used on European car papers?
No. It is the mechanical horsepower of 745.699872 W. Metric PS is about 735.5 W, so numbers differ by roughly 1.4 percent.
Is a kilowatt-hour a unit of power?
No. A kilowatt-hour is energy. Use the energy page for kWh, and this page for kW.