If you need power in mechanical horsepowers, power in tons of refrigeration and power in metric horsepowers and you already have power in milliwatts, this calculator does the substitution for you. It suits a quick check, a homework answer you want to confirm, or any figure you need to sanity test.
What Is the Power Converter Calculator?
The power converter calculator converts power in milliwatts between the units you need, so you do not have to hunt for a factor and work it out longhand.
Conversion factors are where unit mistakes happen, and a mistake here tends to propagate silently into everything calculated from it afterwards.
How the Power Converter Conversion Works
Each conversion uses the exact factor defined for the unit, so the answer is right to the precision you would normally quote.
Convert at one end rather than at several. Converting to a common unit first and then back again introduces rounding that you then have to carry through the rest of the calculation.
Getting the Units Right
Check that the unit you are converting from is the unit you actually measured in. Similar-looking units, particularly gallons and litres or ounces and grams, are the usual source of a factor-of-ten error.
Write down both the value and its unit. A number without a unit is not a measurement, it is a guess.
A Worked Example
Working through an example, with power in milliwatts set to 10, the calculator returns power in watts of 10, and power in kilowatts of 10, and power in mechanical horsepowers of 10. Substitute your own figures and the same steps produce the same kind of answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to work out power in mechanical horsepowers?
Enter power in milliwatts. The calculator then works through the relationship and reports power in mechanical horsepowers, power in tons of refrigeration and power in metric horsepowers.
What does the power converter actually calculate?
It takes power in milliwatts and converts them into power in mechanical horsepowers, power in tons of refrigeration and power in metric horsepowers using the standard relationship for this problem. Each step is applied in turn, so every output is traceable back to the numbers you typed in.
How should I enter power in milliwatts?
Use the value you actually have, in the unit shown next to the field. Enter every value in the same unit system. The calculator assumes the figures you supply are consistent, so it cannot correct a mistake that happens before the calculation starts.
Is the answer exact?
It is as exact as the formula and the inputs allow. The method itself is the standard one for this problem, so the only sources of error are the figures you enter and the precision you ask for.
Can I use this for a quick estimate as well as a precise answer?
Yes. The calculator is built for quick checks, so round your inputs to a sensible number of significant figures and the result will be just as useful. If you need more precision, keep the same method and add digits to the inputs rather than adjusting the method itself.