Terminology, a minefield in the electrical and renewables space. In this blog, we’ll breakdown the definition and use of common phrases, prefixes and commonly used terms.
Watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI). It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. Some smaller capacity devices, such as phone batteries or portable power banks, are measured in Watt-hours. Now, a more user friendly definition… A watt of energy is simply a measurement of how much energy a device or appliance is using or the capacity of a battery within a device, appliance etc. Every electrical device has a rated power output. For example, an average LED lightbulb uses around 10 watts of energy.
In relation to Solar PV, Battery Storage and EV chargers, online monitoring platforms will show production, charging/discharging of a battery or the rate in which an EV is charging in watts and kilowatts.
kW
kW (kilowatt) is equivalent to 1000 watts. kW is used when determining the total installed capacity of a PV system. For example, 10x 430w Solar Panels equals a 4.3kW PV system.
kWh
1 kWh is the amount of energy consumed by an electric appliance working with a power of 1 Kilowatt. For example 1000 Watts, in a time interval of 1 hour. So when an appliance with power of 1000W operates for 1 hour, we say that it has consumed 1 kWh amount of energy.
Consumption
Consumption relates directly to the amount of energy (electricity) you are using in a property. Consumption at a property is measured in kWh.