Units of Power
The power is the work done per unit of time. It can be denoted as P = W/t here, the P – power, W – work done, and t – time. Units of power is expressed in different terms in engineering and other applications. In addition, the power is a kind of energy transferred or converted.
Some of the commonly used units of power are as follows.
Watt (W):
The watt is the standard unit of power in the International System of Units (SI). One watt is defined as one joule of energy per second.
Horsepower (hp):
Horsepower is a units of power commonly used in the context of engines and vehicles. One horsepower is equivalent to 550 foot-pounds per second, or approximately 745.7 watts.
Kilowatt (kW):
The kilowatt is a metric unit of power equal to 1,000 watts. It is often used to measure the power consumption of appliances and the output of smaller electrical devices.
Megawatt (MW):
The megawatt is equal to one million watts. It is commonly used to express the power output of larger electrical systems, such as power plants.
Gigawatt (GW):
The gigawatt is equal to one billion watts. It is a unit of power often used to describe the capacity of large-scale power generation facilities.
Some of the other units of power are as follows. Depending on the application, the use of the unit differs.
Calorie per Second (cal/s):
The calorie per second is a unit of power, representing the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius in one second.
BTU per Hour (BTU/h):
The British Thermal Unit per hour is a unit of power commonly used in the United States for heating and cooling systems. One BTU per hour is approximately 0.293 watts.
Foot-Pound per Minute (ft·lb/min):
The foot-pound per minute is a unit of power in the imperial system, representing the work done at the rate of one foot-pound per minute.
Erg per Second (erg/s):
The erg per second is a small unit of power in the CGS system, where one erg per second is equal to one erg of work done in one second.
Hartree (Ha):
The hartree is a unit of energy often used in atomic and molecular physics. It is equivalent to approximately 4.359 x 10^(-18) joules and is occasionally used as a unit of power in these contexts.
These units provide a range of measurements for power, from everyday applications to large-scale industrial and scientific contexts.
Milliwatt (mW):
The milliwatt is one thousandth of a watt. It is commonly used to measure small electronic device power consumption or output.
Microjoule per Second (μJ/s):
The microjoule per second is a unit of power, representing one millionth of a joule of energy expended or produced in one second.
Decibel-milliwatt (dBm):
Often used in telecommunications, the decibel-milliwatt is a logarithmic unit that expresses power relative to one milliwatt. It provides a convenient way to describe power levels in signal processing.
Terawatt (TW):
The terawatt is equal to one trillion watts. It is used to express extremely large power quantities, often associated with global energy consumption or large-scale energy production.
Kilocalorie per Hour (kcal/h):
Commonly used in the field of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), the kilocalorie per hour measures the rate of energy transfer in the form of heat over an hour.
These additional units further illustrate the versatility of power measurements, from the minuscule to the massive, covering applications in various scientific, technological, and industrial domains.
