How can I convert watt-hrs per gallon to watts?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the conversion of watt-hours per gallon to watts, exploring the relationship between energy and power in the context of automotive energy consumption. Participants are seeking clarification on how these units relate to each other, particularly in practical applications involving vehicles.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that watt-hours is a unit of energy while watts are a unit of power, indicating a fundamental difference between the two.
  • Another participant provides a calculation suggesting that 1 gallon of gasoline contains about 33.3 kilowatt-hours of energy, which may be relevant for conversions.
  • A participant expresses confusion about converting watt-hours to watts, questioning the feasibility of such a conversion in the context of a car's power output.
  • One response suggests that knowing miles per gallon (mpg) and miles per hour (mph) can help derive gallons per hour, which could then be used to calculate power in watts when combined with energy content.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not appear to reach a consensus on the conversion process, with some expressing confusion and others providing differing approaches to the problem. Multiple competing views remain regarding the relationship between watt-hours and watts.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding the assumptions made about the relationship between energy and power, as well as the specific conditions under which the conversions are being considered.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for individuals interested in automotive energy consumption, energy conversion processes, or those studying the relationship between energy and power in practical applications.

tacojohn
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I'm trying to figure out how to convert watt-hrs per gallon to watts. If anyone can help it would be much appreciated!
Thanks. ^_^
 
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watt-hours is a unit of energy. Watts are a unit of power - so one watt for one hour would be a watt-hour
 
1 gallon of gasoline contains about 120 million btu of energy. 1 kilowatt-hour of energy is equivalent to 3.6 million btu. So 1 gallon of gasoline contains about 33.3 kilowatt-hours of energy.
 
Well I'm converting a car's power to watts, knowing the mpg at a specific mph and watts-hr per gallon. So I'm slightly confused because if read that you can not change watt-hr to watts?

Can you shed some light on this for me?
 
mpg and mph gives you gallons/hour = power
If you convert gallons into watt hours then you get power in watts
 

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