Kilocalories Per Hour to Kilowatts (kcal/h to kW)

1 kilocalorie per hour equals 0.001162222222 kilowatts (rounded).

How to convert kilocalories per hour to kilowatts

To convert kilocalories per hour to kilowatts, multiply the number of kilocalories per hour by 0.001162222222. The factor is rounded to 10 significant digits. To go the other way, multiply kilowatts by 860.4206501 (rounded).

kilowatts = kilocalories per hour × 0.001162222222

Example: 10 kilocalories per hour = 0.01162222222 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

Kilocalorie Per Hour (kcal/h)

ScientificTraditional unit (still used in some regions)

About 1.162 watts, using the thermochemical kilocalorie (the International Table kilocalorie gives 1.163 W).

Heat output and body metabolism were long reckoned in kilocalories, so dividing by hours gave a convenient power unit for stoves, radiators and people. The kilocalorie descends from the calorie that Nicolas Clement introduced in lectures between 1819 and 1824, and the capitalized Calorie for the large unit was proposed by Marcellin Berthelot in 1879 and adopted for nutrition by Wilbur Atwater in 1887.

Which calorie is meant changes the answer. With the thermochemical kilocalorie of 4,184 joules the unit is 4,184 divided by 3,600, about 1.1622 watts, which is the figure used here. With the International Table kilocalorie of 4,186.8 joules it is exactly 1.163 watts, the same number that appears in the definition of the IT calorie as 1.163 milliwatt-hours. Either way, 60 kilocalories per hour is roughly 70 watts.

1 kilocalorie per hour = 1.162222222 watts (approximately).

Sources: Wikipedia: Calorie; NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8

Kilowatt (kW)

Metric (SI)Current unit

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

See all power units.