what is horsepower used for
The electrical equivalent of one horsepower is 746 watts in the International System of Units (SI), and the heat equivalent is 2,545 BTU (British Thermal Units) per hour. Another unit of power is the metric horsepower, which equals 4,500 kilogram-metres per minute (32,549 foot-pounds per minute), or 0.9863 horsepower. Horsepower at the output shaft of an engine, turbine, or motor is termed brake horsepower or shaft horsepower, depending on what kind of instrument is used to measure it.