Calories Per Second to Kilowatts (cal/s to kW)
1 calorie per second equals 0.004184 kilowatts exactly.
How to convert calories per second to kilowatts
To convert calories per second to kilowatts, multiply the number of calories per second by 0.004184. This factor is exact. To go the other way, multiply kilowatts by 239.0057361 (rounded).
kilowatts = calories per second × 0.004184
Example: 10 calories per second = 0.04184 kilowatts.
Several different horsepower units exist. This site lists mechanical (745.7 W), metric (735.5 W) and electrical (746 W) horsepower separately.
About these units
Calorie Per Second (cal/s)
Exactly 4.184 watts.
Pairing the small calorie with the second yields a unit that fits laboratory work, where heat flows are modest and timed in seconds. With the thermochemical calorie, defined as exactly 4.184 joules, one calorie per second is exactly 4.184 watts. NIST lists the thermochemical calorie per second at 4.184 watts as an exact factor, and the same list gives the kilocalorie per second as 4,184 watts.
The 15 degree calorie is a little different at about 4.1855 joules, and the International Table calorie of 1956 is 4.1868 joules, so a rate quoted in calories per second without a qualifier can differ by a few parts in ten thousand. The calorie itself is regarded as obsolete since the joule became the official SI unit of energy in 1948, and the watt, one joule per second, has replaced this rate in current work.
1 calorie per second = 4.184 watts (exactly).
Sources: NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8; Wikipedia: Calorie
Kilowatt (kW)
1,000 watts. Used for the power of motors, cars and household appliances.
A kilowatt is simply the watt with the SI prefix kilo, meaning a thousand, attached. The watt was adopted into the SI in 1960 and is small next to machinery, since an incandescent night light uses about 4 W, so the thousand-watt multiple suits engines, electric motors, tools and heaters. For readers used to older units, one kilowatt is roughly 1.34 horsepower.
Small electric heaters with a single element can use about 1 kW, and a domestic electric kettle or microwave oven draws a similar amount. The average household in the United States uses about 1 kW of electric power over time. On a clear midday near the equator, a square meter of Earth's surface receives about 1 kW of sunlight. Do not confuse the kilowatt with the kilowatt-hour on an electricity bill: the first is a rate, the second is the energy used by running one kilowatt for an hour, which equals 3,600,000 watt-seconds.
1 kilowatt = 1,000 watts (exactly).
Sources: Wikipedia: Kilowatt; Wikipedia: Orders of magnitude (power); BIPM: SI prefixes
Related conversions
- Kilowatts to calories per second (reverse)
- Calories per second to watts
- Calories per second to horsepower
- Watts to kilowatts
- Horsepower to kilowatts
- Megawatts to kilowatts
- Gigawatts to kilowatts
- Metric horsepower to kilowatts
- BTU per hour to kilowatts
- Milliwatts to kilowatts
- Electrical horsepower to kilowatts
- Foot-pounds per second to kilowatts
- Tons of refrigeration to kilowatts
- Kilocalories per hour to kilowatts
- Ergs per second to kilowatts
See all power units.