{"id":936,"date":"2024-09-23T11:09:42","date_gmt":"2024-09-23T11:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessenergyuk.com\/?p=936"},"modified":"2025-09-04T09:26:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T09:26:44","slug":"what-is-a-kwh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessenergyuk.com\/knowledge-hub\/what-is-a-kwh\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is A kWh: A Guide for Business Owners"},"content":{"rendered":" \n
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Whenever you switch on a light, or plugin and power up an electrical appliance, you contribute to your businesses energy consumption. Although energy is intangible, it is still a product that we consume, and therefore it is a commodity that we pay gas and electricity companies<\/a> for access to.<\/p>\n \n \"\"\n\n

In order to keep track of energy consumption, companies use a standard energy measurement known as a kilowatt-hour (kWh). This is to help them calculate how much energy we use, and how much to charge us for. But what is a kWh?<\/p>\n

In this article, we’ll help you to understand what a kWh is, the difference between kW and kWh, and why keeping track of the number of kilowatt-hours you use \u2013in your household or business \u2013 is important if you want to reduce your energy usage and save money on your monthly energy bill.<\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

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Kilowatts (kWs) and Kilowatt Hours (kWhs) Explained<\/h2> \"Kilowatts\n

What is a kW?<\/h3>\n

A kilowatt, often referred to as a kW, is simply a unit of power based on watts or wattage. There are many different ways to measure different types of power, however, watts and kilowatts are used as a universal standard measurement for electricity power.<\/p>\n

Using watts and kilowatts is an easy way to communicate and record how powerful certain household appliances are, such as microwaves, hairdryers and ovens. Importantly, a kilowatt is simply 1000 watts. So, a 1000 watt microwave could also be called a 1-kilowatt microwave.<\/p>\n

A useful way to differentiate between kW and kWh (kilowatt and kilowatt-hour) is that a kilowatt is a measure of power, rather than a measure of energy consumption.<\/p>\n

What is a kilowatt-hour?<\/h3>\n

A kWh is a way of communicating a measurement of energy. This measurement helps to work out how much power – in kilowatts – is required to power an appliance for any given amount of time.<\/p>\n

As an example, if a 1000 watt – or 1 kilowatt – microwave was left running for one hour, it would have used 1 kWh. Alternatively, if you switched on a 100-watt lightbulb (0.1 kilowatts), it would take 10 hours to burn 1kWh of electricity.<\/p>\n

Depending on the appliance you use, it’s possible to use a kilowatt-hour (kWh) slowly, over longer periods of time, or very quickly, in short, intense bursts. This will usually depend on the wattage and efficiency of the appliances that you are using.<\/p>\n

Understanding what a kWh is will help you to decipher your monthly energy bill, and work out the exact amount of energy you’re using each month \u2013 and what you’re being charged for it.<\/p>\n\n\t

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How Many kWh Does My Business Use Per Month?<\/h2>

To work out how many kWh your business uses each month, it’s important that you take a look at your most recent energy bill. This will detail exactly how many kWh your business has used, and how much you have been charged for them.<\/p>\n \n \"How\n\n

If you want a rough idea of how many kWhs your business is using each month, you could start by considering the types of electrical appliances you commonly use in your business, and the wattage and efficiency of these appliances. If you’re not sure, now is a good time to find out!<\/p>\n

Appliances with a higher wattage will use more kWh in a shorter period of time. Examples of appliances that tend to have high wattage include printers, power drills, ovens, dishwashers and washing machines.<\/p>\n

You might think that lower wattage appliances are a safe bet if you’re looking to use fewer kilowatt-hours, but this isn’t always the case! If these items are used more frequently, left on, or for longer periods of time, they could end up burning more kWh overall than higher-power appliances.<\/p>\n

That being said, there are many variables that could impact the number of kilowatts your business uses each month, including the size of your premises and the number of people you employ. Beginning to understand how your electricity gets used is a great first step to reducing energy costs and your monthly electricity bill.<\/p>\n

How far one kilowatt-hour goes<\/h3>\n

It can be hard to say exactly how far one kilowatt-hour will go, as different appliances will have varying energy efficiency. Energy efficiency refers to how well an appliance converts its electricity usage into useful energy output: for example, an efficient light bulb<\/a> won’t waste much energy as heat.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Energy Saving Trust<\/a>\u00a0has some useful examples of how far one kilowatt-hour will go when using a selection of common household appliances. This includes:<\/p>\n