What is a kilowatt/kilowatt hour?
Great question! “Kilo” is simply the prefix for one thousand. So a kilowatt is one thousand watts. So what is a watt?
In simple terms, a watt (W) is a unit of instantaneous power that an appliance needs to operate or that a power plant can generate at a given moment. For example, those 28-watt light bulbs you see at the store require 28 watts of power to function. Your kettle on the other hand, usually draws around 2000 watts, or 2 kilowatts (kW) to do its job. If you check the specs on your appliances you’ll see their power ratings listed in watts.
So what is a kilowatt hour then? A kilowatt hour (kWh) is simply a unit or measure of energy. So we take the instantaneous power (measured in kilowatts) and we use (or produce it) over a period of time and we have the unit kilowatt hour! it really is that simple. As a crazy example if I use my 1kW toaster for one hour to toast my bread then I will use 1kWh of energy to make the furniture smell like burnt toast! Gross!
So now you know the difference between a kilowatt and a kilowatt hour. One represents instantaneous power the other represents energy (power through time).
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