Convert Horsepower to Watts
Convert Horsepower to Watts instantly. 1 Horsepower (hp) equals 745.6999 Watts (W).
Horsepower to Watts conversion table
| Horsepower (hp) | Watts (W) |
|---|---|
| 1 hp | 745.6999 W |
| 2 hp | 1,491.4 W |
| 3 hp | 2,237.1 W |
| 5 hp | 3,728.5 W |
| 10 hp | 7,457 W |
| 20 hp | 14,914 W |
| 50 hp | 37,284.99 W |
| 100 hp | 74,569.99 W |
| 500 hp | 372,849.94 W |
| 1,000 hp | 745,699.87 W |
1 Horsepower = 745.6999 Watts · multiply Horsepower by 745.6999
About converting Horsepower to Watts
Horsepower (hp) and Watts (W) are both units of power, so converting between them is a single multiplication: multiply your Horsepower figure by 745.6999. Ten Horsepower comes to 7,457 Watts, and a hundred works out at 74,569.99 Watts.
Rule of thumb: going from Horsepower to Watts multiplies, so the figure always grows — one Horsepower is already 745.6999 Watts. If your answer came out smaller, you have the conversion the wrong way round.
What is a Horsepower?
Horsepower is a marketing unit that became a standard. James Watt devised it to sell steam engines to mine owners who had never bought an engine but had bought plenty of horses: by measuring what a draught horse could actually lift over a working day, he could quote an engine as worth so many horses and let the buyer do the arithmetic. Mechanical or imperial horsepower is defined as exactly 550 foot-pounds-force per second, which is why it lands on no tidy figure in watts. Two and a half centuries after the horses left, it is still how cars, outboards and lawn tractors are advertised.
What is a Watt?
The watt is the SI unit of power — one joule per second — named after James Watt, whose steam-engine improvements did as much as anything to make the idea of power commercially interesting. It measures a rate, not an amount: a watt tells you how fast energy is being moved or converted and says nothing on its own about how much has been used. That is the entire difference between the watts printed on a light bulb and the kilowatt-hours printed on the bill. It is also deliberately universal — the same unit rates a bulb, a loudspeaker, an engine, a laser and a cyclist on a hill.
To put both in perspective: a family hatchback makes something like 120 horsepower, while an LED bulb bright enough for a room draws about 10 watts.
The converter above updates as you type, and the table lists common values for quick reference. Need the opposite direction? Use the Watts to Horsepower converter, or browse all Power converters.
Frequently asked questions
How many Watts are in one Horsepower?
There are 745.6999 Watts in one Horsepower.
How do I convert Horsepower to Watts?
Multiply the number of Horsepower by 745.6999. For example, 10 Horsepower = 7,457 Watts.
What is 100 Horsepower in Watts?
100 Horsepower is equal to 74,569.99 Watts.
How do I convert Watts to Horsepower?
Multiply the Watts value by 0.001341 (or divide by 745.6999).
Is this Horsepower to Watts conversion exact?
The definition is exact — Horsepower and Watts are both fixed against the same base by international agreement — but the decimal shown here is rounded for readability, because the true ratio does not terminate. For engineering or scientific work, carry more decimal places than this page displays.
What is a Horsepower?
Horsepower is a marketing unit that became a standard. James Watt devised it to sell steam engines to mine owners who had never bought an engine but had bought plenty of horses: by measuring what a draught horse could actually lift over a working day, he could quote an engine as worth so many horses and let the buyer do the arithmetic. Mechanical or imperial horsepower is defined as exactly 550 foot-pounds-force per second, which is why it lands on no tidy figure in watts. Two and a half centuries after the horses left, it is still how cars, outboards and lawn tractors are advertised.
What is a Watt?
The watt is the SI unit of power — one joule per second — named after James Watt, whose steam-engine improvements did as much as anything to make the idea of power commercially interesting. It measures a rate, not an amount: a watt tells you how fast energy is being moved or converted and says nothing on its own about how much has been used. That is the entire difference between the watts printed on a light bulb and the kilowatt-hours printed on the bill. It is also deliberately universal — the same unit rates a bulb, a loudspeaker, an engine, a laser and a cyclist on a hill.