Convert between different units of power including watts, horsepower, kilowatts, BTU per hour, and more.
The watt is named after James Watt, the Scottish inventor who developed the steam engine. One horsepower is approximately equivalent to 746 watts, a measurement Watt used to compare the output of steam engines to horses.
Large power plants can generate over 1 gigawatt of electricity, enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes. For context, a typical household uses around 1 kilowatt during peak hours.
Modern electric cars can have motors ranging from 150 to 500 horsepower, while high-performance sports cars can exceed 700 horsepower. The efficiency of electric motors is typically much higher than combustion engines.
A typical residential solar panel generates around 250-400 watts, while large solar farms can produce hundreds of megawatts. The world's largest solar farm can generate over 2.2 gigawatts of power.