What is microwatt?
A microwatt is a unit of power equal to one millionth of a watt. It is used in ultra-low-power electronics, energy harvesting systems, biosensors, and precision scientific instrumentation.
Real-world uses
Microwatts measure the power of radio frequency (RF) signals received by antennas, ultra-low-power IoT sensors, cardiac pacemaker power consumption, and energy-harvesting devices. Satellite receivers may work with signals in the nanowatt to microwatt range. Wearable health monitors often operate at a few microwatts.
History
Microwatts became a meaningful engineering unit as semiconductor miniaturisation through the 1970s–2000s enabled ultra-low-power circuit design. The proliferation of wireless sensors, implantable medical devices, and battery-free energy harvesting systems in the early 21st century made µW-level power budgeting essential.
Common mistakes
Confusing microwatts (µW) with milliwatts (mW)—a difference of 1,000×. In RF engineering, power is often expressed in dBm (decibels relative to 1 mW), which requires knowing that 0 dBm = 1 mW = 1,000 µW, and negative dBm values correspond to sub-milliwatt levels.
What is ton of refrigeration?
A ton of refrigeration is a power unit measuring the heat removal capacity of cooling systems, equal to 12,000 BTU per hour. It is the standard capacity rating for commercial and industrial air conditioning units in the United States.
Real-world uses
The ton of refrigeration (TR) is used for rating commercial and industrial cooling systems, chillers, and large-scale HVAC equipment. A small commercial building might need a 20–100 TR chiller. Data centres measure cooling capacity in TR. One TR = 12,000 BTU/h = approximately 3.517 kW.
History
The ton of refrigeration originated in the 19th century ice trade, when mechanical refrigeration systems were judged by their ability to replace ice delivery. One ton was defined as the cooling equivalent of melting one ton of ice per day. As mechanical refrigeration displaced natural ice by the early 20th century, TR became a standard industrial cooling unit.
Common mistakes
Confusing refrigeration tons with metric tons of mass—they are completely unrelated. Also, the "ton" in TR originated from the cooling power needed to melt one short ton (2,000 lb) of ice in 24 hours, not from any mass being cooled.
When is this conversion used?
Converting between microwatt and ton of refrigeration is common when working across metric and imperial systems, such as international trade, travel between countries with different measurement standards, or following instructions from a different region.
Worked examples
1 microwatt = 2.843451e-10 ton of refrigeration
1 ton of refrigeration = 3,516.85284 watt
How to convert microwatt to ton of refrigeration
To convert microwatt to ton of refrigeration, multiply the value by 2.843451e-10.
To convert ton of refrigeration back to microwatt, multiply by 3.516853e+09.
Measurement standards
The watt is the SI derived unit of power, defined as one joule per second (kg·m²/s³). Horsepower remains in widespread informal use, particularly in the automotive industry, but has no single universal definition across regions.
Did you know?
The human body at rest produces about 80 watts of power — roughly enough to keep an incandescent light bulb glowing. During intense exercise, a trained cyclist can sustain over 400 watts, and elite sprinters briefly exceed 2,000 watts.
Quick reference: microwatt to ton of refrigeration
| microwatt | ton of refrigeration |
|---|---|
| 0.1 | 2.843451e-11 |
| 0.5 | 1.421726e-10 |
| 1 | 2.843451e-10 |
| 2 | 5.686903e-10 |
| 5 | 1.421726e-09 |
| 10 | 2.843451e-09 |
| 25 | 7.108628e-09 |
| 50 | 1.421726e-08 |
| 100 | 2.843451e-08 |
| 250 | 7.108628e-08 |
| 500 | 1.421726e-07 |
| 1,000 | 2.843451e-07 |
Common values
| microwatt | ton of refrigeration | |
|---|---|---|
| LED light bulb | 10,000,000 microwatt | 0.00284345 ton of refrigeration |
| Desktop computer | 300,000,000 microwatt | 0.08530354 ton of refrigeration |
| Microwave oven | 1.000000e+09 microwatt | 0.28434514 ton of refrigeration |
| Small car engine | 7.500000e+10 microwatt | 21.32588522 ton of refrigeration |
| Wind turbine (large) | 3.000000e+12 microwatt | 853.03540878 ton of refrigeration |
Available Power units
More microwatt conversions
- Convert microwatt to watt
- Convert microwatt to kilowatt
- Convert microwatt to horsepower (mechanical)
- Convert microwatt to megawatt
- Convert microwatt to gigawatt
- Convert microwatt to milliwatt
- Convert microwatt to BTU per hour
- Convert microwatt to kilocalorie per hour
- Convert microwatt to ton of refrigeration
Assumption: horsepower values use mechanical horsepower.