kilocalorie per hour (kcal/h)
1 kilocalorie per hour = 1.163 watts
What is kilocalorie per hour?
Kilocalorie per hour is a unit of power expressing energy transfer as dietary calories per hour. It is used in nutrition and exercise physiology to express the rate of energy expenditure during physical activity.
Notes: Heating/cooling rating
Real-world uses
Kilocalories per hour (kcal/h) are used in exercise physiology to express metabolic power output (a brisk walk burns about 300 kcal/h, cycling about 500–800 kcal/h), and in HVAC engineering in Asia and Latin America to rate heating and cooling equipment, where it bridges nutritional and thermal engineering contexts.
History
The kilocalorie per hour emerged as a natural unit at the intersection of nutritional science and physiology, where metabolic rates had long been expressed in food energy per unit time. In HVAC contexts, it provided a familiar scale for countries where kilocalories were the customary energy unit before SI adoption.
Common mistakes
Confusing kcal/h (power) with kcal (energy). A person burning 300 kcal/h for 2 hours has expended 600 kcal, not 300 kcal. Also, mixing up kcal/h with kJ/h: 1 kcal/h = 4.184 kJ/h ≈ 1.163 W.
When is this conversion used?
Converting between kilocalorie per hour and watt 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.
How to convert kilocalorie per hour to watt
To convert kilocalorie per hour to watt, multiply the value by 1.163.
Conversion formula (from base unit)
x * 1.163
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.
| kilocalories per hour | watts |
|---|---|
| 0.1 | 0.1163 |
| 0.5 | 0.5815 |
| 1 | 1.163 |
| 2 | 2.326 |
| 5 | 5.815 |
| 10 | 11.63 |
| 25 | 29.075 |
| 50 | 58.15 |
| 100 | 116.3 |
| 250 | 290.75 |
| 500 | 581.5 |
| 1,000 | 1,163 |
Common values
| kilocalories per hour | watts | |
|---|---|---|
| LED light bulb | 8.59845228 kilocalories per hour | 10 watts |
| Desktop computer | 257.95356836 kilocalories per hour | 300 watts |
| Microwave oven | 859.84522786 kilocalories per hour | 1,000 watts |
| Small car engine | 64,488.39208942 kilocalories per hour | 75,000 watts |
| Wind turbine (large) | 2,579,535.68357696 kilocalories per hour | 3,000,000 watts |
Full kilocalorie per hour conversion table
| Unit | Value | Factor |
|---|---|---|
| watt | 1 kcal/h = 1.163 W | × 1.163 |
| kilowatt | 1 kcal/h = 0.001163 kW | × 0.001163 |
| horsepower (mechanical) | 1 kcal/h = 0.00155961 hp | × 0.00155961 |
| megawatt | 1 kcal/h = 0.00000116 MW | × 0.00000116 |
| gigawatt | 1 kcal/h = 1.163000e-09 GW | × 1.163000e-09 |
| milliwatt | 1 kcal/h = 1,163 mW | × 1,163 |
| microwatt | 1 kcal/h = 1,163,000 µW | × 1,163,000 |
| BTU per hour | 1 kcal/h = 3.96832072 BTU/h | × 3.96832072 |
| ton of refrigeration | 1 kcal/h = 0.00033069 TR | × 0.00033069 |