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.
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.
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.
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Silas Smith is a seasoned writer with over 5 years of experience in the travel and automotive industry. His love for exploring the cityscapes is equal only to his passion for music. NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, F1, NASCAR– his cravings for the thrills of the sporting world knows no bounds. He loves to visit auto shows when he is not watching a game or playing NFS and Forza Horizon.