On this page we are going to have a look to:

> What is a Kilowatt (kW)

> Kilowatt conversion calculator

>How to use a plug in power meter to measure power

> What is energy conservation and how does it benefit you and the environment

Alternatively, you may want to fast forward to the Kilowatt conversion calculators.

What is a Kilowatt

A Kilowatt (kW) it is a unit used to measure power.

A Watt (W) it is the amount of energy that our household appliances and devices need to function, the rate at which they consume energy.

And one Kilowatt it is the equivalent to 1000 watts.

1kW = 1000 W

The following video explains what a Kilowatt is and how it is related to other power measurement units and our household appliances and devices. Do not forget to enable the video captions, as the video caption contains the concepts explanations.

Kilowatt conversion calculator

This calculator can be used to:

– Convert Watts (W) to Kilowatts (kW)

kW = W/1000

– Convert Watts (W) to Kilowatt Hours (kWh)

kWh = (W/1000) x Hours

kWh is the measurement unit used by the electricity suppliers to calculate our electricity bills.

Also, most of the big appliances, like the dishwashers or washing machines, rate their consumption in kWh.

A few other examples from our ‘Electricity usage calculators‘ page that may be of your interest:

Plug in power meter

If you want to know the exact electricity usage of an appliance or device, your best option is to use a plug in power meter to measure the electricity consumption.

Clicking on the image below it will redirect you to the Amazon page where you can have a look to the specifications of the power meter we use for our measurements.

All of our house appliances and devices like the washing machine, the dishwasher, the TV or the printer are plugged to a wall socket.

So, with a power consumption meter we can determine how much electricity our appliances or devices are using and, more importantly, we can measure the electricity usage over a period of time.

If you want to find out how you can use a plug in power meter to measure your electricity usage and electricity cost, have a look to this YouTube video.

Energy conservation

Energy conservation can be defined as the decision and the act of using less energy

Energy conservation both benefit you and the environment

The act of saving and conserving electricity does benefit you because you will be paying less on your energy bills.

And it also does benefit the environment because conserving electricity prevents any unnecessary waste of natural resources.

Now, at individual level it may not look worth to try to save a few watts here or there.

Still, every little counts and if hundreds or thousands of us do save a little every time, it will make an important contribution towards conserving our natural resources.

For example, if 9000 households would manage to save as little as 10 Watts per day (0,01 kWh) that would add to 32850 Kilowatt hour (kWh) saved per year.

9000 households x 0,01 kWh per day x 365 days per year

32,850 kWh saved per year

That is a considerable amount of electricity, but let’s add additional perspectives for clarity:

> Assuming an average cost of 0,18 euro (or dollars, or pounds, or any other currency) per kWh, we would collectively be saving nearly 6000 euro per year.

> To produce 32,850 kWh of electricity it is necessary to use around 17 metric tons of coal or 56 barrels of residual fuel oil.

Have a look to this page for more information about the amount of resources needed to produce electricity.

In any case it is clear that small energy savings do really count when looking into the bigger picture.

If you are looking for ideas to save electricity at home, have a look to this YouTube video were we show some useful tips to reduce the electricity usage at home and decrease the electricity bill.