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electric horsepower

Convert between electric horsepower and other major units of power.

A unit of power = 746 watts.

sources

The proposition made by Mr. W. H. Preece, at the recent meeting of the British Association, to change the electrical horse-power from 746 Watts to 1000, and the number 33,000 to 44,236 foot-pounds, so as to preserve the corelation between the electrical and the mechanical horsepower, has very properly been severely criticised, and it is extremely doubtful whether Mr. Preece’s desire to thus establish a new unit will be gratified. Although the adoption of the proposed change would, perhaps, in some respects be convenient for electricians, it is evident that the confusion arising from an excessive multiplication of new units is a constant source of annoyance, and even a superficial investigation would have shown Mr. Preece that the deep-rooted prejudice against the introduction of such units, unless in imperative demand, is not unfounded. Assuming that the substitution of 1000 Watts for 746 as an electrical horse-power would really prove as desirable as claimed, it is not at all clear why the convenience of engineers in general should be sacrificed for the convenience of those more directly interested in the study of electricity, and hence the suggestion made a short time ago that the new unit be called a Preece instead of a horse power. This, of course, would eliminate one of the objectionable features of the proposition, but still the fact remains that we would have another addition to the already long list of existing units—a circumstance which in itself is by no means desirable, and which, we trust, will not and ought not to meet with approval.

Editorial.
Mechanics, vol page 228 (November 1884)