Power Converter

Power Converter converts a power rating between watts, kilowatts, megawatts and gigawatts, three different horsepowers, BTU per hour, foot-pounds per second, calories per second and tons of refrigeration.

Watts are the base, and the detail that matters most is that horsepower is not one unit. Mechanical horsepower is 745.6998715822702 W, metric horsepower or PS is 735.49875 W, and electric horsepower is a round 746 W, and all three are offered as separate entries instead of being averaged into a single "hp". Choose the wrong one on an engine or motor specification and the answer is out by roughly one and a half per cent — close enough to look right and wrong all the same. The ton of refrigeration at 3516.8528420667 W is included because air-conditioning capacity is quoted in it and almost never in kilowatts.

The rating is converted where you typed it. Every factor is a constant compiled into the page, so the conversion needs no round trip and no record of it survives the tab.

Comparing an engine quoted in PS against one quoted in kW, sizing an air conditioner rated in tons against a kilowatt supply, converting a boiler output given in BTU per hour, and reading a solar inverter figure in watts.

Also known as: convert power · hp to kw · kw to horsepower · watts to horsepower · engine power converter · change power format