kW vs kWh: the difference between power and energy in an electric car
kW is power, meaning how fast the charger or the motor works; kWh is energy, meaning the amount that goes into the battery and appears on the bill. Keeping the two apart is the first step to working out charging time, cost and range correctly.
By: Şarj Rehberim · Updated: · 5 min read
Short answer
kW (kilowatt) is power: it tells you how fast energy flows. A charging station's speed (22 kW, 150 kW) and a motor's output are given in kW. kWh (kilowatt-hour) is energy: the amount delivered by 1 kW of power over one hour. Battery size (60 kWh), a car's consumption (16 kWh/100 km) and the amount you pay are all worked out in kWh.
In short, kW answers "how fast" and kWh answers "how much". At an 11 kW station, roughly 11 kWh of energy goes into a 60 kWh battery every hour.
What is a kW? Power, in other words speed
The watt (W) is the unit of power; 1 kW is 1,000 watts. In an electric car you see kW in two places: charging power and motor power. Home AC chargers deliver 3.7–22 kW, DC fast charging stations 50–400 kW.
Motor power is also given in kW; 1 kW is roughly 1.36 metric horsepower (PS). A 150 kW electric motor is the equivalent of about 204 PS.
What is a kWh? Energy, in other words quantity
A kWh is the energy that 1 kW of power delivers in 1 hour. An 11 kW station delivers 11 kWh in an hour and a 150 kW station 150 kWh; in half an hour, half of that.
Battery capacity is given in kWh and works like the car's "tank size". Your household electricity bill and charging station prices are also per kWh: you pay for the kWh you take. That is why the cost of charging depends not on the station's power but on the kWh that goes into the battery and the price per kWh.
Which value appears where?
| Value you see | Unit | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Charging station power | kW | The fastest it can deliver energy (e.g. 22 kW AC, 180 kW DC) |
| Car's charging power | kW | The highest power the car can accept (e.g. 11 kW AC, 135 kW DC) |
| Motor power | kW (and PS) | The car's performance; 1 kW ≈ 1.36 PS |
| Battery capacity | kWh | The energy the battery can hold (e.g. 60 kWh) |
| Consumption | kWh/100 km | Energy used per 100 km (e.g. 16 kWh/100 km) |
| Charging price and bill | ₺/kWh | What you pay for every kWh of energy you take |
Worked example: time and cost
To take a car with a 60 kWh battery from 10% to 80%, 60 × 0.70 = 42 kWh has to go into the battery. Time = energy ÷ power: on 11 kW AC that is 42 ÷ 11 ≈ 3.8 hours, or a little over 4 hours once you add the roughly 10% lost during charging. On DC the power drops as the battery fills, so the time depends on the car's charging curve; at a 150 kW station this charge takes 25–30 minutes for most cars.
Cost = kWh × ₺/kWh. At home on the single-rate tariff (4.86 ₺/kWh), 42 kWh comes to about 225 ₺ including losses; on the night tariff (3.26 ₺/kWh), about 150 ₺. At the public tariffs published on 1 November 2026, the same energy costs about 380–460 ₺ on AC and 500–690 ₺ on DC.
Sources (as of 1 November 2026): EPDK electricity tariff tables · ZES pricing · Petrol Ofisi e-power
kWh/100 km and range
An electric car's consumption is given in kWh/100 km, the counterpart of litres/100 km in a petrol car. A car using 16 kWh/100 km covers, in theory, 60 ÷ 16 × 100 ≈ 375 km on a 60 kWh battery; real range varies with speed, temperature and the road.
The cost of 100 km comes from the same number: 16 kWh × 3.26 ₺ (night tariff) ≈ 52 ₺, or about 57 ₺ with losses. To work it out for your own car, use the calculator in the Electric vs petrol running cost guide.
Common mistakes
- Writing "kW/h": the correct unit is kWh (kilowatts × hours). There is no energy unit called kW/h.
- Taking the station's power for the car's: a car that accepts 11 kW, plugged into a 22 kW AC station, charges at 11 kW. The smaller value is the one that counts.
- Treating the whole battery kWh as usable: manufacturers quote a total (gross) and a usable (net) capacity; use the net figure for range and cost calculations.
- Assuming higher kW costs more: the price is per kWh. That said, many networks charge a higher price per kWh at DC and high-power (HPC) points.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does 1 kWh cost in Türkiye?
- At home, 4.86 ₺ on the single-rate tariff and 3.26 ₺ in the night band of the three-rate tariff (EPDK, tariff of 4 April 2026, taxes included). At public charging stations on 1 November 2026 it costs 8.99–10.99 ₺ on AC and 11.99–16.49 ₺ on DC.
- What is the difference between kW and kWh?
- kW is power (how fast), kWh is energy (how much). Multiply power by time and you get energy: a 7 kW unit delivers 21 kWh in 3 hours.
- How far does a 60 kWh battery go?
- It depends on consumption: about 400 km at 15 kWh/100 km, about 300 km at 20 kWh/100 km. Further in town and in mild weather, less on the motorway and in winter.
- What does the kW figure at a charging station tell me?
- It shows the highest power the station can deliver, in other words how fast charging can be. If your car accepts less, the car's power sets the time. You can filter stations by power on the map.