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Understanding Car Batteries: How Many Watts Are in a Car Battery?

  • Cars Explained
  • Silas Smith
  • 4 minutes

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People rarely research the technicalities of a car battery, like its power, voltage, wattage, etc. Most simply buy the one that fits their car and forget about it. But if you’re curious to know how many watts are in a car battery, we’ve got you covered! 

The power unit of a car battery is usually measured in volts. However, you can do a simple calculation to convert battery voltage into watts. This article will discuss all about it.  

How many watts are in a car battery

What are watts, and how are they related to car batteries? 

Watt is the unit of power. In simple words, it measures the amount of energy used in one second. As energy is measured in Joules, 1 Watt equals 1 Joule per second. To find how many watts are in a car battery, you can do the simple calculation of multiplying its voltage by amperage (volts*amps) 

So, the higher the wattage consumption, the faster the battery drain.  

How many Watts does a car battery have? 

Determining the number of Watts in a car battery is easy. All you need to do is to multiply the volts by the amps of your battery. So, a 12-volt battery with 600 amps will have 7200 watts (12volts x 600 amps) 

How many watts does a car battery need while starting a car? 

Starting a car would need a lot of power. You would need around 1000 watts of power in your battery to help fire the engine and other essential accessories like lights. Furthermore, additional aftermarket accessories, like auxiliary lights, music systems, etc., would draw more power from your car battery. 

via GIPHY

Number of watts in a 12-volt car battery 

12-volt batteries are the most commonly used batteries in cars. Depending upon its amps, a typical fully charged 12-volt battery will have a 4000-8000 Watts range.  

Refer to this table for a clearer picture regarding the number of watts in a 12V Battery. 

Battery Capacity in Ah  Watts (12 V) 
1Ah   12 Watts 
2.5Ah  30 Watts 
5Ah  60 Watts 
10Ah  120 Watts 
15Ah  180 Watts 
20Ah  240 Watts 
25Ah  300 Watts 
30Ah  360 Watts 
40Ah  480 Watts 
50Ah  600 Watts 
60Ah  720 Watts 
70Ah  840 Watts 
80Ah  960 Watts 
90Ah  1080 Watts  
100Ah  1200 Watts  
125Ah  1500 Watts  
150Ah  1800 Watts  
175Ah  2100 Watts  
200Ah  2400 Watts  
250Ah  3000 Watts 
300Ah  3600 Watts  
350Ah  4200 Watts  
400Ah  4800 Watts  
500Ah  6000 Watts 
600Ah  7200 Watts  
700Ah  8400 Watts  
800Ah  9600 Watts 
900Ah  10800 Watts  
1000Ah  12000 Watts 
1500Ah  18000 Watts  
2000Ah  24000 Watts  
3000Ah  36000 Watts 

Watts, Watt-Hours, and Amp hours

Amp hours or Ah denotes the energy required to discharge one watt for one hour. Similarly, watt-hour measures how many watts flow per hour. Most cars use a 12-volt 105 Ah battery, which means it can provide 1260 Watt-hours (12×105). This is more than enough to satisfy a car’s minimum wattage requirement for a perfect startup. 

Recommended read: Understanding the Basics: Is a Car Battery AC or DC?

How to calculate Watts in a car battery: some important formulas to know. 

Basic knowledge of Ohm’s law can help one calculate some important measurements surrounding a car battery. Ohm’s law describes the relationship between the Voltage (V), Current (I), and Resistance (R) of a circuit and represents it as I (in Amps) = V/R.

Transposing this to the equation for calculating power, it becomes: 

Power (Watts)= Voltage (V) x Current (Amps) 

So, a car battery with 12V and 400 Amps will have a wattage of 4800 Watts (12×400).  

Calculating watt-hours in a car battery 

As mentioned above, watt-hour measures how many watts flow per hour in a car battery. In simple words, it measures the capacity of your car battery.  

The equation to calculate watt-hour is: Watt-hour (Wh) = Volts (V) x Amp-hour (Ah) 

Bottomline 

Your curiosity about the technicalities of a car battery, like its watts, volts, and other measurements, indicates that you’re looking for a durable and reliable battery for your car. Purchasing a good quality battery from a reputed brand is the best way to alleviate your reliability concerns. 

Way.com, the all-in-one App, helps you find the best auto insuranceauto refinanceEV charginggas discountsbest parking, and car washes near you.   

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