Meaning of 1 Unit Electricity : Calculation of Power Consumption

1 unit electricity means that the total power of 1 kW means 1000 watts consumed by the electrical appliances for one hour. It means that if any appliances of rating 1Kw operate for an hour then the electricity consumed by them will be 1 unit electricity.

Meaning of 1 Unit Electricity

1 unit of electricity refers to the power consumption by an electrical appliance of 1 kW or 1000 watts when it will operate for an hour. 1 unit of electricity is also known as 1Kwh(one kilowatt-hour), because of the power consumption by 1 Kw of appliances for an hour.

So,

1 Kw= 1000 watts
1 unit = 1 Kwh or 1000wh
=1 Kw x 1 hour
=1000 watt x 1 hour
=1000 watt x 3600 seconds
=3.6 x 10⁶ joule.

It means that 1 unit of electricity is equal to 3.6 x 10⁶ joule of energy.

We can understand it more clearly with an example. As we get the electricity bill of our home after a certain time interval. This electricity bill has based on how much unit electricity you have consumed. Let’s suppose you have got a bill of ₹980, it means that it has been calculated based on how many units of electricity you have and this is the total bill of electricity as per the rate of electricity bill in your state.

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Calculation of Power Consumption

Calculation of power consumption means the total energy consumed by the consumer. And this power consumption measures in the unit, which simply means kilowatt-hour. If any consumer operates any appliances of rating one kilowatt for two hours then it means the consumer consuming 2 units of electricity.

The calculation of power consumption has based on the meter reading that is simply how many units are consumed by the consumer. And on this basis, the calculation of power consumption has been done. Let’s take an example to understand it.

If the rate of 1 unit electricity bill is Rs.7. And the total power consumption is 30 units then the total bill is Rs.210. It’s very simple to calculate the power consumption. If we understand with arbitrary constant then it will be like, if the rate of 1 unit electricity bill is ‘M’ rupees and suppose the consumer has consumed ‘K’ unit electricity.

Then the total billing of his power consumption will be calculated as the multiplication of the rate of electricity bill to the power consumed.

Like,

1 unit electricity rate = M rupees

Energy consumed= K unit

The total bill of electricity= (M x K) rupees.

In case there is some unit displayed before installing energy meter to your house then the power will be,

Initial energy consumed= ‘T’ unit

Final energy consumed= ‘U’ unit

1 unit electricity rate= M rupees

Then,

Total bill of electricity = {(U-T) x M} rupees.

This is as simple as that if initial reading ‘t’ and final reading ‘u’ unit then calculate their difference and multiply with the rate of 1 unit electricity. You will get your total billing for electricity.

How Do We Measure Electricity?

Electricity measures in terms of watt or kW(kilowatt). It means how many kilowatts of electricity you have used for how many hours. Let’s suppose you have used 3 kW of electrical appliances for 2 hours then it will be 6 kilowatts of electricity for 2 hours.

The calculation of power consumption appliances like microwave is based on their Watt rating which is simply how many units are consumed by a particular home appliance in an hour.

Watt is the unit of power, and it is simply written on the electrical appliances. As we see the watt rating written on the LED bulb which we use in our houses, LED television, Fan, etc. which uses in our household.

And in the case of meter reading, electricity measures in terms of a kilowatt-hour, which we discussed above as the total electricity consumed in terms of a kilowatt for how many hours. When a consumer receives their billing of electricity then it has written in the unit or kilowatt-hour. There are several terms in which electricity is used to measure and those terms are watt, kilowatt, megawatt, gigawatt, etc.

How Many Watts Means 1 Unit?

1 unit means 1Kwh or 1000 watts. This means when one kilowatt of electrical appliances uses for one hour then it measures as 1 unit of electricity. We get our electricity bill based on how many units are consumed.

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1 unit is the term used to measure electricity consumption by the consumer. 1unit doesn’t mean 1Kw, it means 1Kwh which simply means one kilowatt of energy consumed for one hour. If we use several appliances in our home and the total rating of appliances which are used in our household is 2 kW and it uses for 18 hours then the total unit of electricity will be 36 units. It means the multiplication of one kilowatt of electricity to one hour.

FAQs on 1 Unit Electricity