Calculate mechanical power — how quickly work is done — based on the amount of work and time.
Power (P) is work (W) per unit of time — in other words, how quickly the work is done. Power is measured in watts (W), where 1 watt equals 1 joule of work per second.
For context: 1 horsepower (hp) ≈ 746 W. A typical car engine of, say, 150 hp is therefore around 112,000 W, or 112 kW.
Work is the total amount of energy transferred, while power is how quickly that work is done. Two people can do the same amount of work, but if one takes half the time, they have twice the power.
One horsepower (hp) equals roughly 746 watts. The unit historically came from comparing engines to the pulling power of a horse, but is mainly used for engine power today.
Divide the power in watts by 1000 to get kilowatts. For example, 2500 W is the same as 2.5 kW. The calculator above does this conversion automatically.