What is the conversion between horsepower and kilowatts?
2 Answers
Horsepower and kilowatt conversion is: 1 metric horsepower equals 0.7354988 kilowatts. Horsepower is a unit of power, where 1 horsepower equals the work done to lift a 75-kilogram object 1 meter per second. Kilowatt is a unit of power, equal to 1000 watts. Kilowatts were initially mainly used in electrical applications, but now have a trend towards broader applications. In electrical terms, kilowatt-hours are completely equivalent to 'degrees', just with different names. Both horsepower and kilowatts represent the work done by an engine. An engine is a machine capable of converting other forms of energy into mechanical energy, first developed in the UK. It can refer to either the power generation device or the entire machine including the power unit.
I've been driving for years and have some knowledge about power units. The conversion between horsepower (hp) and kilowatts (kW) is actually quite practical. 1 horsepower is approximately equal to 0.735 kilowatts, and conversely, 1 kilowatt equals 1.36 horsepower. The concept was originally invented by engineer Watt, using the force of a horse pulling a millstone as the standard. Nowadays, it's very common to see these units in car specifications when purchasing a vehicle. For example, a car labeled as 200 horsepower actually has a power output of about 147 kilowatts. European car models often use kilowatts in their parameter tables, while American cars prefer to list horsepower. By converting between these units, you can understand the true performance. Different manufacturers might have slight variations in their labeling methods. For instance, the metric horsepower (PS) used by German cars isn't exactly the same as the imperial horsepower (hp), so pay attention to unit details during conversion.
