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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Short description|Unit of energy, often used for electrical billing}}
{{Redirect|KWH}}
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| units2 = [[CGS unit]]s
| inunits2 = {{convert|1|kW.h|erg|lk=out|disp=out}}
| units3 = [[English EngineeringImperial units]]
| inunits3 = ≈{{thinsp}}{{convert|1|kW.h|ft.lbfftpdl|sigfig=7|lk=out|disp=out}}
| units4 = British[[English GravitationalEngineering units|English Engineering units (US only)]]
| inunits4 = ≈{{thinsp}}{{convert|1|kW.h|ftpdlft.lbf|sigfig=7|lk=out|disp=out}}
}}
A '''kilowatt-hour''' ([[unit symbol]]: '''kW⋅h''' or '''kW h'''; commonly written as '''kWh''') is a [[SI unit|non-SI]] [[Units of measurement|unit]] of [[energy]]: one [[kilowatt]] of power for one hour. It is equivalentequal to 3.6 [[Joule|megajoules]] (MJ) in SI units, which is the energy delivered by one [[kilowatt]] of power for one [[hour]]. Kilowatt-hours are a common billing unit for electrical energy supplied by [[Electric utility|electric utilities]]. [[Metric prefix]]es are used for multiples and submultiples of the basic unit, the watt-hour (3.6 kJ).
 
==Definition==
The kilowatt-hour is a composite unit of energy equal to one kilowatt (kW) sustained for (multiplied by) one hour. Expressed in the standard unit of energy in theThe [[International System of Units]] (SI), unit of energy meanwhile is the [[joule]] (symbol J),. itBecause a [[watt]] is equalby todefinition one [[joule]] per [[second]], and because there are 3,600 [[seconds]] in an hour, one kWh equals 3,600&nbsp;[[kilojoule]]s or 3.6&nbsp;MJ.<ref>Thompson, Ambler and Taylor, Barry N. (2008). [http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/pdf/sp811.pdf ''Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI)''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603203340/http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/pdf/sp811.pdf |date=June 3, June 2016 }} (Special publication 811). Gaithersburg, MD: National Institute of Standards and Technology. 12.</ref><ref name="taylor2001">"Half-high dots or spaces are used to express a derived unit formed from two or more other units by multiplication.", Barry N. Taylor. (2001 ed.) [http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP330/sp330.pdf ''The International System of Units.''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603215953/http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP330/sp330.pdf |date=3 June 3, 2016 }} (Special publication 330). Gaithersburg, MD: National Institute of Standards and Technology. 20.</ref>
 
==Unit representations==
A widely used representation of the kilowatt-hour is "''kWh"'', derived from its component units, kilowatt and hour. It is commonly used in billing for delivered energy to consumers by [[electric utility]] companies, and in commercial, educational, and scientific publications, and in the media.<ref>[http://www.electropedia.org/iev/iev.nsf/display?openform&ievref=131-11-58 IEC Electropedia, Entry 131-11-58] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314215740/http://www.electropedia.org/iev/iev.nsf/display?openform&ievref=131-11-58 |date=14 March 14, 2016 }}</ref><ref>See for example: [http://www.windpower.org/en/stat/unitsene.htm ''Wind Energy Reference Manual Part 2: Energy and Power Definitions''] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071126132157/http://www.windpower.org/en/stat/unitsene.htm |date=26 November 26, 2007 }} Danish Wind Energy Association. Retrieved 9 January 2008; [http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/Kilowatt-Hour-kWh.html "Kilowatt-Hour (kWh)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302222956/http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/Kilowatt-Hour-kWh.html |date=2 March 2, 2016 }} BusinessDictionary.com. Retrieved 9 January 2008; [http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf41.html "US Nuclear Power Industry"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126132157/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf41.html |date=26 November 26, 2007 }} www.world-nuclear.org. Retrieved 9 January 2008; [http://eeru.open.ac.uk/natta/energy.html#4 "Energy. A Beginners Guide: Making Sense of Units"] {{webarchive | url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071126132157/http://eeru.open.ac.uk/natta/energy.html |date=26 November 26, 2007 }} ''Renew On Line (UK)''. The [[Open University]]. Retrieved 9 January 2008.</ref> It is also the usual unit representation in electrical power engineering.<ref>ASTM SI10-10, IEEE/ASTM SI 10 American National Standard for Metric Practice, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2010, [www.astm.org] "The symbols for certain compound units of electrical power engineering are usually written without separation, thus: watthour (Wh), kilowatthour (kWh), voltampere (VA), and kilovoltampere (kVA)"</ref> This common representation, however, does not comply with the [[style guide]] of the [[International System of Units]] (SI).<ref name="BIPM">{{cite web |title=The International System of Units (SI) |url=https://www.bipm.org/utils/common/pdf/si-brochure/SI-Brochure-9-EN.pdf#page=33 |publisher=International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) |access-date=7 April 2020 |page=147 |date=2019}}</ref>
 
Other representations of the unit may be encountered:
* "''kW⋅h"'' and "''kW&nbsp;h"'' are less commonly used, but they are consistent with the SI. The SI brochure<ref name="BIPM" /> states that in forming a compound unit symbol, "Multiplication must be indicated by a space or a [[interpunct|half-high (centred) dot]] (⋅), since otherwise some prefixes could be misinterpreted as a unit symbol." This is supported by a voluntary standard<ref>Standard for the Use of the International System of Units (SI): The Modern Metric System. (1997). (IEEE/ASTM SI 10-1997). New York and West Conshohocken, PA: [[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]] and [[ASTM]]. 15.</ref> issued jointly by an international ([[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers|IEEE]]) and national ([[ASTM International|ASTM]]) organization, and by a major style guide.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Chicago Manual of Style |date=2017 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |edition=17 |url=https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed17/part2/ch10/psec058.html |access-date=1 April 2020 |chapter=10.57: Units derived from SI base units}}</ref> However, the IEEE/ASTM standard allows "''kWh"'' (but does not mention other multiples of the watt-hour). One guide published by [[National Institute of Standards and Technology|NIST]] specifically recommends against "''kWh"'' "to avoid possible confusion".<ref>{{cite web | url= https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nistspecialpublication811e2008.pdf | title= Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI) | publisher = [[National Institute of Standards and Technology]] | year= 2008 | quote = Reference [4: ISO 31-0] suggests that if a space is used to indicate units formed by multiplication, the space may be omitted if it does not cause confusion. This possibility is reflected in the common practice of using the symbol kWh rather than kW⋅h or kW&nbsp;h for the kilowatt-hour. Nevertheless, this Guide takes the position that a half-high dot or a space should always be used to avoid possible confusion; | access-date= 6 April 2020}}</ref>
* TheIn 2014, the United States official fuel-economy [[window sticker]] for electric vehicles usesused the abbreviation "''kW-hrs"''.<ref name=fueleconomy>{{cite web|title=Electric Vehicles: Learn More About the New Label |url= http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/label/learn-more-electric-label.shtml |website=fueleconomy.gov|publisher=US Department of energy|access-date=10 August 2014}}</ref>
* Variations in capitalization are sometimes encountered: ''KWh'', ''KWH'', ''kwh'', etc., which are inconsistent with the International System of Units.
* The notation "''kW/h"'' for the kilowatt-hour is incorrect, as it denotes kilowatt per hour.
 
The hour is a unit of time listed among the [[Non-SI units mentioned in the SI|non-SI units accepted]] by the [[International Bureau of Weights and Measures]] for use with the SI.<ref name=BIPM /> Its combination with the kilowatt, a standard SI unit, is therefore permitted within the standard.{{dubious|date=October 2022}}
 
An electric heater consuming 1,000 watts (1 kilowatt), and operating for one hour uses one kilowatt-hour of energy. A television consuming 100 watts operating continuously for 10 hours uses one kilowatt-hour. A 40-watt electric appliance operating continuously for 25 hours uses one kilowatt-hour.
 
==Electricity sales==
Electrical energy is typically sold to consumers in kilowatt-hours. The cost of running an electrical device is calculated by multiplying the device's power consumption in kilowatts by the operating time in hours, and by the price per kilowatt-hour. The [[unit price]] of electricity charged by utility companies may depend on the customer's consumption profile over time. Prices vary considerably by locality. In the United States prices in different states can vary by a factor of three.<ref>[https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector], U.S. Energy Information Administration, April 2018</ref>
 
While smaller customer loads are usually billed only for energy, transmission services, and the rated capacity, larger consumers also pay for peak power consumption, the greatest power recorded in a fairly short time, such as 15 minutes. This compensates the power company for maintaining the infrastructure needed to provide peak power. These charges are billed as demand changes.<ref>[https://www.nationalgridus.com/niagaramohawk/non_html/eff_elec-demand.pdf "Understanding Electric Demand"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606043318/https://www.nationalgridus.com/niagaramohawk/non_html/eff_elec-demand.pdf |date=June 6, June 2016 }}, National Grid</ref> Industrial users may also have extra charges according to the [[power factor]] of their load.
 
Major energy production or consumption is often expressed as terawatt-hours (TWh) for a given period that is often a [[calendar year]] or [[fiscal year|financial year]]. A 365-day year equals 8,760 hours, so over a period of one year, power of one gigawatt equates to 8.76 terawatt-hours of energy. Conversely, one terawatt-hour is equal to a sustained power of about 114 megawatts for a period of one year.
 
==Examples==
In 2020, the average household in the United States consumed 893 kWh per month.<ref>{{cite web|title=How much electricity does an American home use?|url=https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=97&t=3#:~:text=How%20much%20electricity%20does%20an,about%20893%20kWh%20per%20month.|publisher=U.S. Energy Information Administration|access-date=2022-06-11 June 2022|date=7 October 2021-10-07}}</ref>
 
Raising the temperature of 1 [[litre]] of water from [[room temperature]] to the boiling point with an [[electric kettle]] takes about 0.1 kWh.
 
A 12 watt [[LED lamp]] lit constantly uses about 0.3 kW⋅h per 24 hours and about 9 kWh per month.
 
In terms of [[human power]], a healthy adult male manual laborer performs work equal to about half a kilowatt-hour over an eight-hour day.<ref>Eugene A. Avallone et al., (ed), ''Marks' Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers 11th Edition '', Mc-Graw Hill, New York 2007 {{ISBN|0-07-142867-4}} page 9-4</ref>
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==Watt-hour multiples {{anchor|Multiples}}==<!-- This section is linked from [[Economy of France]] and many other articles -->
{{SI multiples 2
|symbol=W⋅h
|unit=watt-hour
|anchor=Multiples
|mlo=3
|smlo=3
|mhi=15
|smhi=6
|right=
}}▼
{{Further|Metric prefix}}
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align: center;"
|+ SI multiples of watt-hour (W⋅h)
|-
! scope="col" | Value
! scope="col" | Symbol
! scope="col" | Name
|-
| {{10^|-6}} || μW⋅h || microwatt-hour
|-
| {{10^|-3}} || mW⋅h || milliwatt-hour
|-
| {{10^|0}} || W⋅h || watt-hour
|-
| {{10^|3}} || kW⋅h || kilowatt-hour
|-
| {{10^|6}} || MW⋅h || megawatt-hour
|-
| {{10^|9}} || GW⋅h || gigawatt-hour
|-
| {{10^|12}} || TW⋅h || terawatt-hour
|-
| {{10^|15}} || PW⋅h || petawatt-hour
▲}|}
 
All the [[Metric prefix|SI prefixes]] are commonly applied to the watt-hour: a kilowatt-hour is 1,000 Wh (kWh); a megawatt-hour is 1 million Wh (MWh); a milliwatt-hour is 1/1,000 Wh (mWh) and so on.
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==Distinction between kWh (energy) and kW (power)==
A kilowatt is a unit of power (rate of flow of energy per unit of time). A kilowatt -hour is a unit of energy. Kilowatt per hour would be a rate of change of power flow with time.
 
[[work (physics)|Work]] is the amount of energy transferred to a system; [[Power (physics)|power]] is the ''rate of delivery'' of energy.
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===Annualized power===
Electric energy production and consumption are sometimes reported on a yearly basis, in units such as megawatt-hours per year (MWh/yr) gigawatt-hours/year (GWh/yr) or terawatt-hours per year (TWh/yr). These units have dimensions of energy divided by time and thus are units of power. They can be converted to SI power units by dividing by the number of hours in a year, about {{val|87668760|u=h|up=yr}}.
 
Thus, 1&nbsp;GWh/yr = 1&nbsp;GWh/87668760&nbsp;h ≈ {{val|114.0812|u=kW}}.
 
===Misuse of watts per hour{{anchor|Watt per hour}}===
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Watts per hour (W/h) is a unit of a ''change'' of power per hour, i.e. an acceleration in the delivery of energy. It is used to measure the daily variation of demand (e.g. the slope of the [[duck curve]]), or ramp-up behavior of [[power plant]]s. For example, a power plant that reaches a power output of {{val|1|u=MW}} from {{val|0|u=MW}} in 15 minutes has a ramp-up rate of {{val|4|u=MW|up=h}}.
 
Other uses of terms such as ''watts per hour'' are likely to be errors.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Woofenden |first=Ian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iYktDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22watts+per+hour%22+%22nonsensical+phrase%22&pg=PA48 |title=Wind Power For Dummies |date=5 October 2009-10-05 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-49637-4 |pages=48 |language=en |quote=Much too often, I hear people say something like ... 'watts per hour'...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NvRIAQAAIAAJ&q=%22watts+per+hour%22+(mistake+OR+error+OR+blunder) |title=Home Power |date=2007 |publisher=Electron Connection |language=en |quote="Watts per hour. This nonsensical phrase tops my electrical terminology pet peeve list."}}</ref>
 
==Other related energy units==
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The energy content of a [[battery (electricity)|battery]] is usually expressed indirectly by its capacity in [[ampere-hour]]s; to convert ampere-hour (Ah) to watt-hours (Wh), the ampere-hour value must be multiplied by the voltage of the power source. This value is approximate, since the battery voltage is not constant during its discharge, and because higher discharge rates reduce the total amount of energy that the battery can provide. In the case of devices that output a different voltage than the battery, it is the battery voltage (typically 3.7&nbsp;V for [[Li-ion]]) that must be used to calculate rather than the device output (for example, usually 5.0&nbsp;V for [[USB]] portable chargers). This results in a 500&nbsp;mA USB device running for about 3.7 hours on a 2,500&nbsp;mAh battery, not five hours.
 
The ''Board of Trade unit'' (B.T.U.)<ref>{{cite book|editor=E. M. Kirkpatrick|title=[[Chambers 20th Century Dictionary]]|edition=New|year=1983|publisher=Chambers|location=Edinburgh|isbn=0550102345|page=137}}</ref> is an obsolete UK synonym for kilowatt-hour. The term derives from the name of the [[Board of Trade]] which regulated the electricity industry until 1942 when the [[Ministry of Power (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Power]] took over.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Board of Trade 1621-1970|url=http://www.berr.gov.uk/aboutus/corporate/history/outlines/BT-1621-1970/page13919.html |website=Department for Business Innovation and Skills |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100304150704/http://www.berr.gov.uk/aboutus/corporate/history/outlines/BT-1621-1970/page13919.html|archive-date=4 March 2010-03-04}}</ref> This should not be confused with a [[British Thermal Unit]] (BTU) which is 1055 J.
 
In India, the kilowatt-hour is often simply called a ''Unitunit'' of energy. A million units, designated ''MU'', is a gigawatt-hour and a ''BU'' (billion units) is a terawatt-hour.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.financialexpress.com/printer/news/122151/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120908010852/http://www.financialexpress.com/printer/news/122151/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 September 8, 2012 |title=Get enlightened about electricity |date=20 December 20, 2004 |work=[[The Financial Express (India)|The Financial Express]] |access-date=29 November 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.hindu.com/holnus/006200807241521.htm | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121107155200/http://www.hindu.com/holnus/006200807241521.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=7 November 7, 2012 | title=BHEL manufactured units generate record power | date=24 July 24, 2008 | work=[[The Hindu]] | agency=[[Press Trust of India]] |access-date=29 November 2009}}</ref>
 
==See also==
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilowatt-hour"