Watt (W)
The watt (W) is the standard unit of power in the International System of Units, named in honor of James Watt, a Scottish engineer renowned for advancing steam engine technology during the 1700s. Watt’s innovations were pivotal to the Industrial Revolution, making the measurement of power increasingly important. The watt was formally recognized as a unit of power in 1889 and later became part of the global SI system. Defined as one joule per second, it quantifies how quickly energy is transferred or converted. The watt is essential in fields such as electricity, mechanics, and thermodynamics, and it is commonly used to describe the power of household devices, industrial equipment, and energy systems. For larger-scale measurements, units like the kilowatt are used to represent higher amounts of power efficiently.
BTU per hour (BTU/hr)
BTU per hour (BTU/hr) is a power measurement derived from the British Thermal Unit, which represents the heat needed to raise one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. One BTU/hr corresponds to about 0.293 watts. This unit has traditionally been used in both the UK and US, especially within the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) sector. It is still widely employed to rate the output of appliances like furnaces and air conditioners. Despite not being part of the metric system, BTU/hr persists in North America due to its deep-rooted presence in industry standards and consumer usage.