Energy Consumption Concept (KWH)
Energy Consumption Concept (KWH)
What is a KWH?
A kilowatt hour (kWh) is a measure of how much energy you are using. It does not mean the number of kilowatts you are using per hour. It is simply a unit of measurement that equals the amount of energy you would use if you kept a 1,000-watt appliance running for an hour. So, if you switched on a 100-watt light bulb, it would take 10 hours to rack up 1 kWh of energy. Or a 2,000-watt appliance would use 1 kWh in just half an hour. While a 50-watt item could stay on for 20 hours before it used 1 kWh.
What is the difference between kWh and kW?
A kilowatt is simply 1,000 watts, which is a measure of power. So, for example, the 10,000-watt electric shower in the top bullet point above could also be called a 10-kilowatt shower.
A kilowatt hour (kWh) is a measure of energy. So, a 1,000-watt drill needs 1,000 watts (1 kW) of power to make it work and uses 1 kWh of energy in an hour. That is why, if you leave a TV or computer on standby, it is still using power and creating a kWh cost on your energy bill.
The most significant difference between the kW and kWh is that the KW measures the power generated and utilised by the devices, whereas the kWh measures the energy consumed by the electrical equipment.
What is a watt?
A watt (W) is a unit of power. Think of power as “the ability to do work.” Technically, a watt is a measurement of energy transfer that equals one joule per second, but since nobody outside a laboratory has uttered the word “joule” since high school physics class, we’ll stick with “watt.”
With electricity, power is voltage times amperage. Or one-watt (W) equals one-volt (V) times one ampere (A).
A good way to think about electricity is that it is a lot like water. Voltage is the pushing, or the pressure, and amperage is the flow. When discussing electricity, amperage is also called current
Important Points/Key Takeaways
- Watts and Kilowatts are measures of power, or the ability to do work.
- Kilowatt-hours are a measure of energy, or work done over time.
- Appliances and devices use power and keeping them turned on over time results in energy usage, which is measured and recorded as kilowatt-hours on your electric bill.