What is the difference of kW and kWh?

You're not alone. Many people are confused by the difference between kW and kWh.
This is a simple way to remember what each means.

kW = POWER

Think of kW like a car speedometer that goes up to 100.

kWh = ENERGY

Think of kWh as a car that goes 300 miles at an average of 30 MPH over time on a tank of gas (or electricity for an EV).

What is a kW?

kW is a kilo-watt.
1 kW is one kilo-watt or one thousand watts.

Most homes can accept from 24,000 watts to 48,000 watts of power from the utility at any moment.

If your home has a 100 Amp electrical panel that can handle up to 240 Volts, then the house can accept up to 24,000 watts (100A * 240V) of power from the utility at any moment.

That is a lot of power.

For example, if you have a 1,000 watt microwave oven, then you could have enough power for 24 microwaves running at the same time. Most homes never use that much power.

What is a kWh?

kWh is a kilo-watt hour.
1 kWh is one kilo-watt hour, or one thousand watts for an hour.

Your utility bill is measured in kWh every month. The average home uses 30 kWh per day or 11,000 kWh per year.

Check your utility bills to see how much energy (kWH) you use every year

Solar kits are ranked by kW or Power

Any given solar kit can generate kWh of energy over time.

For example, a 10 kW kit generates 13,000 kWh per year located in cloudy Cleveland, while that same 10kW generates 18,600 kWh per year in sunny Arizona.

Once you check your utility bills and know your kWh energy consumption per year, then go to Calculate How Much Solar to determine what size solar kit is needed.

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