Power Converter

Engine outputs, appliance draws and air conditioner ratings all measure the same quantity in incompatible units, so this converter moves a figure between watts, horsepower, BTU/h and four others.

What is the Power Converter?

The Power Converter normalizes everything to watts and back out again. Its seven options are Watts, Kilowatts, Megawatts, Horsepower, BTU/h, kcal/h and Tons of refrigeration. The horsepower factor is 745.7 watts, which is mechanical horsepower, and the refrigeration ton is 3516.85 watts, exactly 12,000 BTU/h at the tool's own BTU factor of 0.293071.

Key Features

• Seven units covering electrical, mechanical and HVAC power ratings
• Horsepower fixed at the mechanical 745.7 watt definition
• Refrigeration tons included, which most general converters leave out
• Quick Conversions panel restates your figure in all seven units
• Swap button reverses the From and To pair instantly

Common Use Cases

• Comparing an electric motor rated in kilowatts against a gas engine rated in horsepower
• Sizing an air conditioner when the listing quotes BTU/h and the room guide uses kilowatts
• Reading a European radiator specification given in kcal/h before ordering a replacement
• Translating a generator's kilowatt rating into horsepower to match a pump's requirement

How to Use the Power Converter

1. Enter the power figure in the Value field at the left of the row.
2. Choose its current unit in the From dropdown, which defaults to Watts.
3. Choose your target unit in the To dropdown, which defaults to Horsepower.
4. Read the large result and the full unit name printed underneath it.
5. Look at the Quick Conversions cards to see all seven units for the same input.

Tips for Best Results

• Metric horsepower, badged PS or CV in Europe, is 735.5 watts and about 1.4 percent smaller.
• A one-ton air conditioner means 12,000 BTU/h of cooling, not the weight of the unit.
• Kilowatts on an appliance label describe draw; kilowatt-hours on your bill describe energy actually used.
• Round horsepower results to whole numbers, since engine ratings are never meaningful past the decimal point.

Why Use WiserWork's Power Converter?

Power is the one quantity where the unit tells you which industry wrote the spec: watts for electronics, horsepower for engines, BTU/h for American HVAC, kcal/h for European heating. Converting between them by hand means holding four unrelated factors in your head. This page keeps all seven and computes in the browser, so nothing you enter is transmitted.

Who Uses the Power Converter?

HVAC installers and homeowners sizing cooling equipment are heavy users, since BTU/h and tons rarely appear on the same label as kilowatts. Car and motorcycle enthusiasts comparing kW and HP figures use it too, along with electricians and generator buyers matching loads to output.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which horsepower does this converter use?

Mechanical horsepower, at 745.7 watts. That is the 550 foot-pounds per second definition used in the US and UK.

How does metric horsepower differ?

Metric horsepower, written PS, CV or hk, is about 735.5 watts, roughly 1.4 percent smaller. A 300 PS European engine is about 296 mechanical horsepower.

What is a ton of refrigeration?

A cooling rate of 12,000 BTU/h, or 3516.85 watts as the tool defines it. The name comes from the heat needed to melt a ton of ice in a day.

How do I convert BTU/h to kilowatts?

Select BTU/h as the From unit and Kilowatts as the To unit. The tool multiplies by 0.293071 watts per BTU/h, so 12,000 BTU/h is about 3.52 kW.

Why is kcal/h in the list?

European heating equipment, radiators and older boilers in particular, is still specified in kilocalories per hour. One kcal/h is 1.163 watts.

Is one kilowatt the same as one kilowatt-hour?

No. A kilowatt is a rate of energy use; a kilowatt-hour is that rate sustained for an hour. This converter handles rates only.

Can I reverse the conversion?

Yes. The circular swap button between the dropdowns exchanges the From and To units and recomputes right away.

How precise is the output?

The main result is rounded to six decimal places and the Quick Conversions cards to four. Converting 1 watt to horsepower gives 0.001341.

Does this convert engine torque or displacement?

No, it handles power only. Torque and displacement are different quantities and need their own conversion factors.

Why does my car's kW rating not match the brochure horsepower?

Check which horsepower the brochure used. A kW figure converted with metric horsepower reads about 1.4 percent higher than with the mechanical horsepower applied here.

From a 12,000 BTU/h window unit to a 300 horsepower engine, power ratings arrive in whatever unit the industry that wrote them prefers. Seven units on one screen makes the comparison a matter of reading rather than arithmetic.