🔍 /

Horsepower to Kilowatts Converter

Convert between Mechanical, Metric, and Electrical Horsepower to kW. High-precision engineering tool for automotive and electrical applications.

User Rating 0.0 ★★★★★
Total Usage 0 times
Category Energy & Power
↔
Active Formula: PkW = Php × 0.74569987
Is this tool helpful?

Your feedback helps us improve.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

About

In the field of mechanical and electrical engineering, the term "Horsepower" is notoriously ambiguous. Automotive engineers in the US use Mechanical Horsepower (hp), while their counterparts in Europe often use Metric Horsepower (PS or cv). Electrical engineers dealing with motor efficiency use Electrical Horsepower. While these values are close, they are not identical. Mixing them up can lead to efficiency miscalculations or regulatory non-compliance.

This tool is built for precision. Unlike generic converters that average these values, this utility separates them into three distinct standards. It uses high-precision constants to ensure that when you convert a specific engine or motor specification, the result reflects the true output in Kilowatts ($kW$).

automotive engine power electrical engineering unit conversion kW to hp

Formulas

The calculator applies the specific constant based on the selected standard:

{
PkW = Php × 0.74569987 if MechanicalPkW = PPS × 0.73549875 if MetricPkW = Php(E) × 0.746 if Electrical

Reference Data

Unit TypeSymbolValue in WattsValue in kW
Mechanical Horsepowerhp(I)745.699872 W0.7457 kW
Metric Horsepowerhp(M) / PS735.49875 W0.7355 kW
Electrical Horsepowerhp(E)746 W0.7460 kW
KilowattkW1000 W1.0000 kW

Frequently Asked Questions

HP (Horsepower) is a general unit of power. BHP (Brake Horsepower) refers to the measurement method, specifically the power available at the crankshaft without losses from the gearbox or alternator. Numerically, they use the same "Mechanical Horsepower" unit (1 HP = 0.7457 kW).
Electrical Horsepower is defined theoretically to simplify calculations with electrical units. Since 1 hp is approximately 746 Watts, electrical engineers adopted this integer for convenience in motor efficiency calculations.
German manufacturers typically use "Pferdestärke" (PS), which corresponds to Metric Horsepower. You should select "Metric HP (PS/cv)" for accurate conversion.
No. Boiler Horsepower is a completely different scale used for steam boilers (approx. 9.8 kW per Boiler HP). This tool focuses on rotational and electrical power.