Megawatt-hours to Kilocalories conversion

What is megawatt-hours?

A Megawatt-hour is a unit of energy and its units, MWh, are formed with W for watt and h for hour from SI unit system combined with letter M, metric prefix, for 1,000,000 or $10^6$. Its definition, in the context of electricity, is the energy of one watt power flowing for one hour.

Followings equivalent equations are identical but in different units. Please note that factor $10^6$ is representing Mega prefix in MWh unit.

$$1 MWh = 10^6*Pt = 10^6*IVt = 3600 * 10^6*J = 2.247 * 10^{22} * 10^6 eV = 8.598*10^5 * 10^6 cal$$

$P - Power$
$t - Time \text{ (in hours. Multiply by 3600 to convert to seconds)}$
$I - Current$ $V - Volts$
$J - Joules$
$eV - Electronvolt$
$cal - Calories$

Wikipedia page for Kilowatt-hour (watt-hour redirected to kWh) UCI article on Energy Units and Conversions Ian Woofenden's explanation on difference between Watts and Watt-Hours

What is kilocalories?

Kilocalories (kcal) are a unit of energy that measures the amount of heat or energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree Celsius. In other words, it's a measure of how much energy is needed to change the state of a substance (in this case, water).

In nutrition and food science, kilocalories are used to express the energy content of foods and drinks. One kilocalorie is equal to 1000 calories (not to be confused with "Calories" which is capitalized and refers to the unit of energy specifically related to the human body). The term "kilocalorie" is often shortened to simply "calorie", but technically, it's a measure of the energy content of foods and drinks.

Here are some examples of how kilocalories are used in everyday life:

1. Food labels: When checking nutrition labels on packaged foods, you'll see the energy content listed in kilocalories (kcal).
2. Caloric intake: The number of kilocalories an individual consumes or burns is a measure of their caloric balance.
3. Physical activity: The energy expended during exercise or physical activity is also measured in kilocalories.

To give you an idea of the scale, here are some approximate kilocalorie values for common foods and drinks:

• Apple (1 medium): 95 kcal
• Banana (1 medium): 105 kcal
• Cup of coffee: 0-2 kcal
• Glass of water: 0 kcal

I hope that helps you understand what kilocalories are!