Kilowatt Hours (kWh)
A kilowatt-hour (kWh) measures electrical energy equivalent to one kilowatt of power supplied for one hour. It equals 3.6 million joules and is the standard billing unit for electricity consumption worldwide [bipm-si-brochure].
Origin
The kilowatt-hour emerged with widespread electric power usage in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It became standardized as electric utilities adopted it for consumer energy measurement and billing [bipm-si-brochure].
Worldwide Use
The kWh is the universal unit for residential and commercial electricity billing globally, including in North America, Europe, and Asia. It is used extensively in energy management, engineering, and environmental reporting [nist-si-guide].
Common References
- A typical household uses about 30 kWh per day
- An electric kettle consumes roughly 0.1 kWh per use
- A 100-watt bulb running for 10 hours uses 1 kWh
Kilowatt Hours → Joules1 kWh = 3,600,000 JKilowatt Hours → Kilojoules1 kWh = 3,600 kJKilowatt Hours → Megajoules1 kWh = 3.6 MJKilowatt Hours → Gigajoules1 kWh = 0.0036 GJKilowatt Hours → Calories1 kWh = 860,420.6501 calKilowatt Hours → Kilocalories1 kWh = 860.4207 kcalKilowatt Hours → Watt Hours1 kWh = 1,000 WhKilowatt Hours → Megawatt Hours1 kWh = 0.001 MWhKilowatt Hours → Electron Volts1 kWh = 22,469,432,668,058,746,000,000,000 eVKilowatt Hours → British Thermal Units1 kWh = 3,412.1282 BTUKilowatt Hours → Therms1 kWh = 0.0341 thmKilowatt Hours → Foot-Pounds1 kWh = 2,655,223.6362 ft⋅lbfKilowatt Hours → Ergs1 kWh = 36,000,000,000,000 ergKilowatt Hours → Watts1 kWh = 3,600,000 WKilowatt Hours → Kilowatts1 kWh = 3,600 kWKilowatt Hours → Megawatts1 kWh = 3.6 MWKilowatt Hours → Gigawatts1 kWh = 0.0036 GWKilowatt Hours → Horsepower1 kWh = 4,827.6787 hpKilowatt Hours → Metric Horsepower1 kWh = 4,894.6362 PSKilowatt Hours → Foot-Pounds per Minute1 kWh = 159,313,183.1659 ft⋅lbf/minKilowatt Hours → Foot-Pounds per Second1 kWh = 2,655,223.6362 ft⋅lbf/sKilowatt Hours → BTU per Hour1 kWh = 12,283,712.8204 BTU/hKilowatt Hours → BTU per Minute1 kWh = 204,728.0813 BTU/minKilowatt Hours → Tons of Refrigeration1 kWh = 1,023.6424 TRKilowatt Hours → Milliwatts1 kWh = 3,600,000,000 mWKilowatt Hours → Microwatts1 kWh = 3,600,000,000,000 µWKilowatt Hours → Nanowatts1 kWh = 3,600,000,000,000,000 nWKilowatt Hours → Terawatts1 kWh = 0 TWKilowatt Hours → Petajoules1 kWh = 0 PJKilowatt Hours → Exajoules1 kWh = 0 EJKilowatt Hours → Calories (Nutritional)1 kWh = 860.4207 CalKilowatt Hours → Tons of TNT1 kWh = 0.0009 tTNTKilowatt Hours → Kilotons of TNT1 kWh = 0 ktTNTKilowatt Hours → Megatons of TNT1 kWh = 0 MtTNTKilowatt Hours → Barrels of Oil Equivalent1 kWh = 0.0006 BOE