Humans tend to confuse similar words for similar meanings. Even I was perplexed at times, about which term means what. Now I am clear and let me clear your confusion as well. When we talk about electrical we refer to the flow of electrons. On the contrary, electronics deals with the tasks where the control of the flow of electrons takes place. There are some concepts and terms that overlap in both contexts.
We will learn one such concept i.e. Volts to Watts Electrical Conversion Calculator.
Each term used in the above-mentioned topic is used in day-to-day life. Domestically, we are very familiar with their meanings. However, scientifically we need to learn more about it.
Here we will be focusing on Watt, how volts can be converted to watts, and concepts related to it.
P = W/∆t
Where,
P= power,
W/E= work done/energy transferred,
∆t= elapsed time
Example – An electric bulb having 100 watts of power.
Example – 1 horsepower = 750 watts
Kilowatts
Kilowatts are used to describe the amount of energy utilized in a given time, especially in electrical appliances. The symbolic representation of Kilowatts is kW.
1 kW = 1000 W
Megawatts
Megawatts are used to where the output of a power plant or electricity utilized in a city is required to measure. The symbolic representation of Megawatts is MW.
1 MW = 1000 kW = 1,000,000 W
Gigawatts
Gigawatts are used where we require the capacity of large plants or numerous plants together. That quantity is measured and expressed in Gigawatts.
1 GW = 1000 MW = 1 billion Watts
The relation between Volts and Watts
To convert Voltage into one of the above Watts values, we need some relation between them. One such relationship exists and is known as Watt’s law.
The law state that current is equivalent to the quantity of power divided by the quantity of voltage.
I = P/V
Where,
‘I’ is in Ampere,
‘P’ is in Watts,
‘V’ is in Voltage
Formula
With the above-mentioned relation, it becomes easy for us to derive the formula needed for the conversion.
Rearranging the above equation, we get
P = I x V ——— 1
Apart from the above formula, there are more different scenarios like –
When converting for AC circuits
With some slight changes, you can easily convert the voltage to Watts using the same formula. Here power factor is introduced in the formula.
Now, the power factor is the ratio of real power in watts to the apparent Power in Volt-Ampere. The value of the Power factor is never less than 0 or greater than 1.
Therefore, when dealing with the AC circuit power is expressed as the product of RMS voltage, current, and PF.
Power (W) = Voltage (V) x Current (A) x PF ——— 2
When resistance is given
As mentioned, for different cases different formulas can be used. If the value of resistance is known, you can still convert Voltage to Watts.
You may use this formula,
P = (V) 2 / R ——— 3
Where,
P = Power (W),
V = Voltage (V)
R = Resistance (Ω)
So, we have two ways in which we can convert Volts into Watts. Let’s see what steps we can follow to easily implement the conversion-
With the above steps, the conversion of Voltage to Watts will be like a hot piece of cake.
• Benefits
Converting volts into watts will be beneficial for sustainably leading our domestic life. Watts tells us about the power consumed by devices in our home and also in large power plants. Further converting to Kilowatt-hours can give us the total cost of electricity utilized.
We can only amend our actions when we understand the above terms. Now as we are aware of what each term means, stands for and how it is converted we can expect a reduction in our electricity bills.