What Are the Main Units of Measurement in the Energy Sector?
5 min read
From watts to -hours, joules, calories and tons of oil equivalent, here is some simple data to explain. There’s a plethora of units to choose from when measuring the of a machine or the amount of energy it produces or consumes.
What Are the Main Units of Measurement in the Energy Sector?
= International unit used to measure the of a device or system.
1,000 watts = 1 kilowatt (kW) 1,000,000 watts/1 million watts = 1 megawatt (MW)
1,000,000,000 watts/1 billion watts = 1 gigawatt (GW)
1,000,000,000,000 watts/1 trillion watts = 1 terawatt (TW)
Watt electrical (We) = Unit used to measure power provided as
.
Watt thermal (Wth) = Unit used to measure power provided as
.
Watt-peak (Wp) = Unit used to measure maximum power capacity.
Power should not be confused with THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY CONSUMED OR PRODUCED by a device or system.
To calculate energy consumed: E = P x t
E: Energy consumed/P: Power/t: Time used
Example for an electric oven:
Power = 3,000 watts (W)
Average time used per week = 1 hour 30 minutes
E = 3,000 W x 1.5 h
Energy in watt-hours consumed in one week = 4,500 Wh
Or ≈ 200 kWh/year (taking school holidays into account)
To MEASURE THE ENERGY CONSUMED OR PRODUCED, we need tiny figures.
Example: 1
= energy consumed by a 1-watt system in 1 second.
1 joule = 1 Wh divided by 3,600.
Calorie (cal) = Quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius.
Often used in nutrition.
Energy content of food = Amount of heat released when burned.
Or huge figures!
= Amount of energy released by burning 1 metric ton of
.
1 toe = 11,630 kWh
= Amount of energy released by burning 1 metric ton of
.
1 tce = 0.7 toe
Summary:
- The watt is an international unit used to measure the power of a device or system.
- To measure the energy consumed or produced by a device or system, the most common unit is watt-hours.
- But other less commonly used units exist, such as joules and calorie
How is energy mesured?
See all
