Power converters

Power is the rate of energy transfer — how fast work is done or heat is moved. The SI unit is the watt (W). Cars are still rated in mechanical horsepower in much of the world; the metric horsepower (PS / CV) is slightly smaller. Convertitive uses exact definitions: 1 hp (mechanical) = 745.69987158227022 W, 1 hp (metric) = 735.49875 W.

Popular power conversions

Watts to Kilowatts

W → kW

Watts to Mechanical horsepower

W → hp

Watts to Metric horsepower

W → PS

Kilowatts to Watts

kW → W

Kilowatts to Mechanical horsepower

kW → hp

Kilowatts to Metric horsepower

kW → PS

Mechanical horsepower to Watts

hp → W

Mechanical horsepower to Kilowatts

hp → kW

Mechanical horsepower to Metric horsepower

hp → PS

Metric horsepower to Watts

PS → W

Metric horsepower to Kilowatts

PS → kW

Metric horsepower to Mechanical horsepower

PS → hp

All power units

The 6 units below can be selected as source or target inside any power converter.

Watts
W · Metric
Kilowatts
kW · Metric
Megawatts
MW · Metric
Mechanical horsepower
hp · Imperial
Metric horsepower
PS · Metric
BTU per hour
BTU/h · Imperial

Power units in terms of the watt

Every power unit on Convertitive is defined as an exact ratio of the watt (W), the reference unit for this category. The table below shows what one of each unit equals in watts — the constant every converter on this page is built from.

Power units expressed in watts
Unit	Symbol	1 unit in watts
Watts	W	base unit
Kilowatts	kW	1000 W
Megawatts	MW	1000000 W
Mechanical horsepower	hp	745.7 W
Metric horsepower	PS	735.499 W
BTU per hour	BTU/h	0.293071 W

To convert between any two units, Convertitive scales the input to watts using these factors and then back out to the target unit — so every result on this page traces to a single, exact definition rather than a chained approximation. Pick any pair above to see the formula, a 50-row reference table, and worked examples.