Difference Between Horsepower and Kilowatts

Horsepower vs Kilowatts
 

Horsepower and kilowatt are two units used to measure the power of systems. These units are widely used in fields such as power generation, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and even automobile technology. It is vital to have a clear understanding in these concepts in order to understand such fields fully. In this article, we are going to discuss what horsepower and kilowatt are, their definitions, their similarities, applications of horsepower and kilowatt and finally the differences between horsepower and kilowatt.

Kilowatt

Kilowatt is a unit used to measure power. To understand the concept of power, one must first understand the concept of energy. Energy is a non-intuitive concept. The term “energy” is derived from the Greek word “energeia” which means operation or activity. In this sense, energy is the mechanism behind an activity. Energy is not a directly observable quantity. However, it can be calculated by measuring external properties. Energy can be found in many forms. Kinetic energy, thermal energy and potential energy are to name a few. Power is the rate energy generation or conversion. The units of power are joules per second. This unit is also known as watt. A unit of thousand watts is known as a kilowatt. Watt is the SI unit for measuring power. The symbol used to identify watt is W while the symbol for the kilowatt is KW. The unit watt is named in honor of the physicist James Watt who was a great contributor to the field of energy. Since wattage is the rate of power, the wattage multiplied by the time gives the energy. The unit kilowatt-hour is used in electricity, to identify energy.

Horsepower

Horsepower is a unit used to measure power. The term used to denote horsepower is hp. The unit horsepower was originally created to compare the power of steamboats and draft horses. Even though the SI system is the standard measuring system in most countries horsepower is still the most commonly used power unit in automobiles, electrical motors and many other mechanical appliances. The value of a horsepower can vary from 735.5 watt to 750 watt depending on the definition. One of the most important definitions of horsepower in automobile engineering is brake horsepower or bhp. Brake horsepower is the power of the engine without the gearbox and other equipment attached. Other forms of horsepower include metric horsepower, PS, CV, Boiler hp, electrical hp and many more. For engines, the power is equal to the product of torque and the frequency of the engine multiplied by a constant depending on the units used.