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Megawatt-hour (MWh) - Unit Information & Conversion

Symbol:MWh
Plural:megawatt-hours
Category:Energy

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What is a Megawatt-hour?

Megawatt-hour (MWh) = 1,000 kWh = 3.6 billion J. Used for industrial facilities, power plants, data centers. 1 MWh = 3,412,000 BTU. Factory daily: 50-500 MWh. Small power plant hourly: 100-500 MWh.

History of the Megawatt-hour

Standard energy unit used in science, engineering, and industry. Conversion: 1 MWh = 3,600,000,000 joules.

Quick Answer

What is Megawatt-hour? Megawatt-hour (MWh) = 1,000 kWh = 3.6 billion J. Used for industrial facilities, power plants, data centers. 1 MWh = 3,412,000 BTU. Factory daily: 50-500 MWh. Small power plant hourly: 100-500 MWh. Use our energy converter for instant conversions.

Key Facts: Megawatt-hour

Property Value
Symbol MWh
Quantity Energy
System Metric/SI Derived
Derived from Joule
Category Energy
Standard Body NIST / ISO

Definition

1 MWh = 3,600,000,000 joules (J)

Common Uses

Used in physics, engineering, energy systems, and scientific calculations where this energy scale is appropriate for the application.

Real-World Electrical Energy Examples

Household Consumption

Device/System Energy (MWh/year)
Average US home 10-15
Home heating system (winter) 5-10
Air conditioning (summer) 5-10
All-electric vehicle (annual) 3-5

Utility Scale

Generator/System Capacity Output (MWh/day)
Home solar panel (5kW) 15-25
Wind turbine (2MW) 10-20
Small power plant 1,000-5,000
Large utility plant 50,000+

Conversion Context

1 MWh = Equivalent
3.6 GJ Gigajoules
3,600 kWh Kilowatt-hours
0.0341 ton oil equiv. TOE
860 kilocalories Kcal

Megawatt-hour Conversion Formulas

To Joule:

1 MWh = 3600000000 J
Example: 5 megawatt-hours = 18000000000 joules

To Kilojoule:

1 MWh = 3600000 kJ
Example: 5 megawatt-hours = 18000000 kilojoules

To Megajoule:

1 MWh = 3600 MJ
Example: 5 megawatt-hours = 18000 megajoules

To Gigajoule:

1 MWh = 3.6 GJ
Example: 5 megawatt-hours = 18 gigajoules

To Watt-hour:

1 MWh = 1000000 Wh
Example: 5 megawatt-hours = 5000000 watt-hours

To Kilowatt-hour:

1 MWh = 1000 kWh
Example: 5 megawatt-hours = 5000 kilowatt-hours

To Calorie:

1 MWh = 860420650.095602 cal
Example: 5 megawatt-hours = 4302103250.478011 calories

To Kilocalorie:

1 MWh = 860420.650096 kcal
Example: 5 megawatt-hours = 4302103.250478 kilocalories

To British Thermal Unit:

1 MWh = 3412128.220196 BTU
Example: 5 megawatt-hours = 17060641.10098 BTUs

To Therm:

1 MWh = 34.121282 therm
Example: 5 megawatt-hours = 170.606411 therms

To Foot-pound:

1 MWh = 2655223636.21076 ft⋅lb
Example: 5 megawatt-hours = 13276118181.053799 foot-pounds

To Electronvolt:

1 MWh = N/A eV
Example: 5 megawatt-hours = N/A electronvolts

To Erg:

1 MWh = N/A erg
Example: 5 megawatt-hours = N/A ergs

To Quad:

1 MWh = 3.4121e-9 quad
Example: 5 megawatt-hours = 1.7061e-8 quads

Frequently Asked Questions

Formula: J = MWh × 3,600,000,000 Megawatt-hour to Joules converter →

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Megawatt-hour Quick Info

MWh
Symbol:MWh
Category:Energy
System:Various
Convert Megawatt-hour

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