Definition:SI/Power/Kilowatt

Definition

The kilowatt is an SI unit of power.

Conversion Factors

\(\ds \)

\(\)

\(\ds 1\)

kilowatt

\(\ds \)

\(=\)

\(\ds 1000\)

watts

\(\ds \)

\(\approx\)

\(\ds 1.341\)

horsepower

\(\ds \)

\(\approx\)

\(\ds 737.6\)

foot pounds force per second

\(\ds \)

\(\approx\)

\(\ds 0.9483\)

British thermal unit per second

Symbol

$\mathrm {kW}$

The symbol for the kilowatt is $\mathrm {kW}$:

$\mathrm k$ for kilo

$\mathrm W$ for watt.

Its $\LaTeX$ code is \mathrm {kW} .

Linguistic Note on Kilo

The prefix kilo- derives from the Greek word χίλιοι (khilioi), which means thousand.

Sources

• 1989: Ephraim J. Borowski and Jonathan M. Borwein: Dictionary of Mathematics ... (previous) ... (next): kilowatt
• 2014: Christopher Clapham and James Nicholson: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (5th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): kilowatt