The output is the work done per unit of time. It can be given here as P = W/t, where P is the power, W is the work done, and t is the time. Power units are expressed differently in engineering and other applications. Furthermore, power is a type of energy transferred or converted.
Some of the commonly used power units are as follows.
Watts (W):
The watt is the standard unit of power in the International System of Units (SI). A watt is defined as one joule of energy per second.
Power):
Horsepower is a unit of power often used in engines and vehicles. One horsepower is 550 foot-pounds per second, or approximately 745.7 watts.
Kilowatts (kW):
The kilowatt is a metric unit of power equal to 1,000 watts. It is often used to measure the power consumption of devices and the performance of smaller electrical devices.
Megawatts (MW):
One megawatt is equivalent to one million watts. It is often used to express the power of larger electrical systems, such as power plants.
Gigawatts (GW):
One gigawatt is equivalent to one billion watts. This unit of power is often used to describe the capacity of large power plants.
Some of the other power units are as follows. Depending on the application, unit usage varies.
Calories per second (cal/s):
The calorie per second is a unit of power and represents the amount of energy required to increase the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius in one second.
BTU per hour (BTU/h):
The British Thermal Unit per hour is a commonly used unit of performance for heating and cooling systems in the United States. One BTU per hour is approximately 0.293 watts.
Foot pounds per minute (ft lb/min):
The foot-pound per minute is a unit of power in the imperial system and represents work done at a rate of one foot-pound per minute.
Ergs per second (erg/s):
An erg per second is a small unit of power in the CGS system, with one erg per second equal to the work done by one erg in one second.
Hartree (Ha):
Hartree is a unit of energy commonly used in atomic and molecular physics. It corresponds to approximately 4.359 x 10^(-18) joules and is occasionally used as a unit of power in these contexts.
These units enable a variety of performance measurements, from everyday applications to large-scale industrial and scientific contexts.
Milliwatts (mW):
A milliwatt is one thousandth of a watt. It is often used to measure the energy consumption or power of small electronic devices.
Microjoules per second (μJ/s):
Microjoule per second is a unit of power that represents one millionth of a joule of energy consumed or produced in one second.
Decibel-milliwatt (dBm):
Commonly used in telecommunications, decibel-milliwatt is a logarithmic unit that expresses the power relative to a milliwatt. It provides a practical way to describe power levels in signal processing.
Terawatt (TW):
One terawatt is equal to one trillion watts. This unit expresses extremely large amounts of energy, often associated with global energy consumption or large-scale energy production.
Kilocalories per hour (kcal/h):
Commonly used in the field of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), the kilocalorie per hour measures the rate of energy transfer in the form of heat during one hour.
These additional units demonstrate the versatility of power measurements, from the smallest to the largest range, covering applications in diverse scientific, technological and industrial areas.
