Watts to amps converter
Pick the voltage, then convert an appliance’s watts to the amps it draws, or a current back to watts.
That's 1.5× as powerful as a microwave, while a kettle is 1.47× more powerful. At 120 V it draws 12.5 A.
What it means
How much power is that?
For DC and for resistive AC loads (heaters, kettles, lamps). Motors and power supplies have a power factor below 1 and draw more amps for the same watts.
Every unit
That power at this voltage
Learn
Three things worth knowing
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W ÷ V = A
2,000 W ÷ 230 V = 8.7 A. A 15 A circuit at 120 V carries 1,800 W, but plan for 80 %: 1,440 W.
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Watt, Volta and Ampère
The units honour James Watt (steam engines), Alessandro Volta (the battery, 1800) and André-Marie Ampère (electromagnetism, 1820s).
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12 V is not 120 V
A 60 W device draws 0.5 A at 120 V but 5 A at 12 V: low-voltage wiring needs much thicker cables.
Shortcuts
Popular power conversions
Background
About watts, volts and amps
Power is voltage times current: watts = volts × amps. A 1,500 W heater on a 120 V US outlet draws 12.5 A; the same heater on a 230 V European outlet draws only 6.5 A.
That is why the voltage matters: amps alone do not say how much power flows. Circuit breakers are rated in amps (15 or 20 A in US homes, 16 A in much of Europe).