Download Power Basics: How much is a watt?

Power Basics: How much is a watt?
Energy is the ability to do work.
Power is how fast energy is used or produced.
A joule is a unit of energy.
A watt is a unit of power.
A watt (W) is a joule (J) of energy used or produced per second.
1 joule of energy is used in lifting a 1 kilogram brick
(2.2 pounds) 10 centimeters (3.9 inches).
In 2010, the average US power use was 3.3 terawatts, or 3,300,000,000,000
watts.
A kilowatt-hour is a unit of energy.
A horsepower is a unit of power.
Running a 1.2 kilowatt microwave for 1 hour uses 1.2
kW-h of energy. That’s 4.3 megajoules or 4,300,000
joules.
1 horsepower (hp) is 745.7 watts.
The average compact car has a peak power production of 150 hp.
1 WATT
hand-cranked
generator
10 watts
single mini light
LED / traditional
0.05 watt / 1 watt
laptop computer
human body base
metabolism
26 cu ft. refrigerator
15-30 watts
80 watts
50 – 1400 watts
(annual average – peak)
1 KILOWATT = 1,000 WATTS
~10 m2
microwave
small solar panel array
1 kilowatt
driving a typical car or SUV
iron
(peak production)
1.5 kilowatt
1-2 kilowatts
50-130 kilowatts
electric train
flying a Boeing 747
1-2 megawatts
140 megawatts
1 MEGAWATT = 1,000,000 WATTS
10+ m/s
50 m
100 m
wind turbine
(2011 GE 2.5 MW)
2.5 megawatts
blue whale
peak metabolic output
2.5 megawatts
1 GIGAWATT = 1,000,000,000 WATTS
Nuclear reactor
Grand Coulee Dam
space shuttle liftoff
0.5 – 1 gigawatt
7 gigawatts
11 gigawatts
average power use of
Washington (2010)
68 gigawatts
average power use of
United States (1940)
840 gigawatts