As more and more households start to think about energy costs and types of energy, more and more people start to want to learn about energy. When learning about energy and the various energy solutions, you may keep seeing the terms kilowatt hour (kwh) and megawatt hour (MWh). Today’s article will explain these two units of energy from multiple perspectives, as well as the conversion relationship between the two units.

1. What is a kilowatt hour (kwh) and what is the difference and relationship between a kwh and a kw?

Kilowatt hour (kwh) is the amount of energy that a unit of 1000w power can consume in one hour, it is the unit of energy consumption. The kilowatt is equal to the unit of 1000w power itself, it indicates that the equipment can provide 1000w of operating power in a relative period of time. As an example: a 1000w air conditioner cools much faster than a 500w air conditioner.

The relationship between kilowatts (kw) and kilowatt-hours (kwh) is equivalent to that used to describe energy, between capacity and time of use. For example, a 1000w (1kw) appliance will consume one kilowatt hour (1kwh) of energy in one hour of operation.

2. What is a megawatt-hour (MWh) and what is the difference and relationship between MWh and MW?

In order to better compare the relationship between megawatt hours and megawatts, we need to know that megawatt hours and kilowatt hours, as well as megawatts and kilowatts all refer to the same thing. A megawatt is a unit of itself that has 100,0000w of power, while a megawatt hour refers to the amount of energy consumed by an appliance with a power of one megawatt (1MW) in one hour. The relationship between the two is the same as between kilowatt-hour and kilowatt.

3. kWh and MWh conversion relationship

Since kilowatt-hour and megawatt-hour represent the same thing, the conversion relationship between the two requires only a simple calculation based on the official position. The specific conversion formula is as follows:

1MWh=1000kwh

1kwh=0.001MWh

According to the above formula, if you need to convert MWh to kWh, just multiply the value by 1000, and if you need to convert kWh to MWh, just divide the value by 1000.

4. On net metering schemes for solar panel systems

Although household electricity is usually measured in kilowatt-hours in daily life, kilowatt-hours are too small for the local is utility company, and conversion of kilowatt-hours to megawatt-hours before metering is generally used, such as net metering for solar customers in a particular community.

For partially grid-tied solar systems, your local utility will offer you a net metering program where excess electricity produced by your home’s solar panel system can be delivered directly to the utility through the main grid, at which point the energy company will typically convert the total net metering for a given community to megawatt-hour units. The utility company then provides you with a free credit to use grid power at night or during inclement weather. This approach can further help reduce electricity costs for solar systems that do not have a solar array installed, as well as the upfront investment costs of installing a solar array.