TERMIUM Plus®

The Government of Canada’s terminology and linguistic data bank.

KILOWATT/HOUR [1 record]

Record 1 2007-08-31

English

Subject field(s)
  • Metrology and Units of Measure
  • Measurements of Electricity
CONT

The watt-hour (symbol W·h or Wh) is a unit of energy. It is most commonly used on household electricity meters in the form of the kilowatt-hour (kW·h or kWh), which is 1,000 watt-hours. It is not used in the International System of Units (SI), despite being based on the watt, as the hour is not a SI unit. The SI unit of energy is the joule (J), equal to one watt-second. It is, however, a commonly used unit, especially for measuring electric energy. 1 watt-hour is equivalent to 3,600 joules (1 W x 3600 s), the joule being the canonical SI unit of energy. Thus a kilowatt-hour is 3,600,000 joules or 3.6 megajoules. ... The kilowatt-hour is commonly used for electrical and natural gas energy. Many electric utility companies use the kilowatt-hour for billing.

OBS

Megawatt-hours are used for metering of larger amounts of electrical energy. For example, a power plant's daily output is likely to be measured in megawatt-hours.

OBS

plural: kilowatt-hours or kilowatthours. Lots of variants can be found, but they should be avoided: kilowattshours, kilowatts hour, kilowatts hours, kilowatt hours, kilowatts-hour, kilowatts-hours, kilowatts/hour, kilowatts/hours, kilowatt/hours.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Unités de mesure et métrologie
  • Mesures de grandeurs électriques
DEF

Unité d'énergie ou de travail équivalant au travail accompli pendant une heure par une machine d'une puissance de 1000 watts.

OBS

Unité utilisée pour la facturation de l'énergie électrique.

OBS

Au pluriel : des kilowattheures ou des kilowatts-heures. À éviter : kilowatts-heure, kilowatt-heures, kilowatts heure, kilowatts heures, kilowatt heures, kilowatts/heure, kilowatts/heures, kilowatt/heures.

Spanish

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