Power Converter
Convert between watts, kilowatts, megawatts, horsepower (mechanical and metric), BTU/h, ft·lbf/s and cal/s, with real-world quick picks.
Power converter
Updates as you typeFrom
Value ?
—
kW
Unit ?
Metric & SI
Imperial & legacy
To
Unit ?
Metric & SI
Imperial & legacy
Quick picks (real-world wattages)
Display (optional)
Decimals ?
4
Recent conversions
Reference: things you already know in watts
Compare your input against everyday loads| Device or scale | Typical power | In watts | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| LED indicator | 1 mW | 0.001 W | |
| Phone charger | 5 W | 5 W | |
| Incandescent bulb | 60 W | 60 W | |
| Hairdryer | 1.5 kW | 1 500 W | |
| Electric kettle | 2 kW | 2 000 W | |
| Window AC (9,000 BTU/h) | ≈ 2.6 kW | 2 638 W | |
| Compact car (100 hp) | 100 hp | 74 570 W | |
| EV motor | 150 kW | 150 000 W | |
| Locomotive | 20 MW | 20 000 000 W | |
| Jet engine (cruise) | ≈ 100 MW | 100 000 000 W | |
| Mid-size power plant | 500 MW | 500 000 000 W | |
| Three Gorges Dam (peak) | 22.5 GW | 22 500 000 000 W |
Type any value above to see where it lands on this scale.
Formula
Pto
=
Pfrom
×
1.34102
- Watt (W)
- Base SI unit — 1 joule per second.
- Mechanical horsepower (hp)
- 1 hp = 745.69987 W (UK / US automotive standard).
- Metric horsepower (PS)
- 1 PS = 735.49875 W (continental Europe, JIS).
- BTU per hour
- 1 BTU/h = 0.29307107 W — used for HVAC and heating capacity.
- Foot-pound-force per second
- 1 ft·lbf/s = 1.35582 W — survives in legacy mechanical engineering.
- Calorie per second
- 1 cal/s = 4.1868 W — thermochemical scales.
Worked example — your numbers
- Input: —
- Convert to base unit (watts): —
- Convert watts → target: —
- Result: —
Every conversion routes through the watt. That keeps eight units consistent with a single coefficient per direction. Watch the gap between mechanical and metric horsepower — it's a 1.4% difference that quietly trips up car-spec comparisons across continents.