Watts (W)
The watt (W) is the SI unit of power, defined as one joule per second (1 W = 1 J/s). It measures the rate of energy transfer or conversion. The watt is named after James Watt and standardized by the BIPM according to the International System of Units [bipm-si-brochure].
Origin
Named after engineer James Watt in the late 19th century, the watt was adopted officially by the CIPM and BIPM to quantify mechanical and electrical power consistently. It became part of the SI base units in 1960 [bipm-si-brochure].
Worldwide Use
Watts measure power output and consumption in electrical, mechanical, and thermal systems globally. It is used across industries, including electronics, automotive, and power generation, following ISO and NIST standards [nist-sp-811].
Common References
- A standard LED bulb typically consumes 10 W
- Household microwave ovens operate around 700–1200 W
- Small wind turbines produce from 400 W to several kW
Watts → Joules1 W = 1 JWatts → Kilojoules1 W = 0.001 kJWatts → Megajoules1 W = 0 MJWatts → Gigajoules1 W = 0 GJWatts → Calories1 W = 0.239 calWatts → Kilocalories1 W = 0.0002 kcalWatts → Watt Hours1 W = 0.0003 WhWatts → Kilowatt Hours1 W = 0 kWhWatts → Megawatt Hours1 W = 0 MWhWatts → Electron Volts1 W = 6,241,509,074,460,763,000 eVWatts → British Thermal Units1 W = 0.0009 BTUWatts → Therms1 W = 0 thmWatts → Foot-Pounds1 W = 0.7376 ft⋅lbfWatts → Ergs1 W = 10,000,000 ergWatts → Kilowatts1 W = 0.001 kWWatts → Megawatts1 W = 0 MWWatts → Gigawatts1 W = 0 GWWatts → Horsepower1 W = 0.0013 hpWatts → Metric Horsepower1 W = 0.0014 PSWatts → Foot-Pounds per Minute1 W = 44.2537 ft⋅lbf/minWatts → Foot-Pounds per Second1 W = 0.7376 ft⋅lbf/sWatts → BTU per Hour1 W = 3.4121 BTU/hWatts → BTU per Minute1 W = 0.0569 BTU/minWatts → Tons of Refrigeration1 W = 0.0003 TRWatts → Milliwatts1 W = 1,000 mWWatts → Microwatts1 W = 1,000,000 µWWatts → Nanowatts1 W = 1,000,000,000 nWWatts → Terawatts1 W = 0 TWWatts → Petajoules1 W = 0 PJWatts → Exajoules1 W = 0 EJWatts → Calories (Nutritional)1 W = 0.0002 CalWatts → Tons of TNT1 W = 0 tTNTWatts → Kilotons of TNT1 W = 0 ktTNTWatts → Megatons of TNT1 W = 0 MtTNTWatts → Barrels of Oil Equivalent1 W = 0 BOE