Power Converter

Value

From

Result

Result135.962162
From unitkilowatt
To unitmetric horsepower
Conversion factor1.359622
Inverse factor0.735499
In other unitswatt: 100000 megawatt: 0.1 mechanical horsepower: 134.102209 BTU per hour: 341214.163315 kilocalorie per hour: 85984.522786 foot-pound per second: 73756.214928

There are two horsepowers as well

Converts power between watts, kilowatts, horsepower and BTU per hour, distinguishing metric from mechanical horsepower.

Metric horsepower is 735.5 watts and mechanical horsepower is 745.7. The gap is about one and a half percent, and specifications confuse them constantly: European figures use the metric one, American figures the mechanical one.

BTU per hour is its own unit, the one air conditioners are sold in. A thousand BTU per hour is about 293 watts, which is where the familiar labelling comes from: a '9' unit delivers roughly 2.6 kilowatts of cooling.

What this calculator shows

A conversion between the pair of power units you pick
The conversion factor in both directions
The same quantity in the other units on the list

What to keep in mind

Metric horsepower is 735.49875 watts and mechanical horsepower is 745.6999.
The BTU here is the international one at 1055.06 joules; other definitions differ in the third digit.

FAQs

How many watts in a horsepower?

735.5 metric and 745.7 mechanical. Europe and Russia use the metric one.

How do I convert kilowatts to horsepower?

Multiply by 1.36. A hundred kilowatts is roughly 136 metric horsepower.

What is BTU per hour?

British thermal units per hour, the unit air conditioners are rated in. A thousand BTU/h is 293 watts.

Why are there two horsepowers?

Metric horsepower was defined as lifting 75 kilograms one metre in a second, mechanical as 550 foot-pounds a second. The units arose in different countries and drifted apart.

Worked example

A hundred kilowatts in horsepower

Input: 100 kW into metric horsepower

Output: 135.96 hp

Note: In mechanical horsepower it would be 134.1, almost two less. Immaterial for a brochure, but Russian vehicle tax is assessed on the metric figure specifically.

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