Energy vs. Power — What's the Difference?
By Maham Liaqat & Fiza Rafique — Updated on May 8, 2024
Energy is the capacity to perform work, measured in joules, whereas power quantifies the rate at which work is done or energy is transferred, measured in watts.
Difference Between Energy and Power
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Energy is a measure of a system's ability to perform work, such as kinetic or potential energy in physical contexts, while power is a measure of how quickly work can be performed or energy can be transferred over time. For example, a battery stores energy, whereas the power of a device indicates how quickly it can use that energy.
In physics, energy is a scalar quantity, which means it does not have direction, but is merely a magnitude, while power, also a scalar, specifically quantifies the time rate of energy usage, reflecting how rapidly energy transformations can occur.
Energy can exist in various forms, such as thermal, chemical, electrical, and mechanical, each depicting potential or kinetic states, whereas power is universally applicable across different systems but always relates to the speed at which these forms of energy are converted or used.
The conservation of energy principle states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another, while power does not have a conservation law but depends on the current state and efficiency of the energy transformation process.
Calculating energy involves measuring how much work has been done, such as lifting an object against gravity, whereas calculating power requires determining how quickly this work is accomplished, emphasizing the importance of time in power metrics.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Capacity to do work
Rate of doing work
Unit of Measure
Joules (J)
Watts (W)
Formula
E = Work done
P = E/t (Energy over time)
Types
Kinetic, Potential, Thermal, etc.
Constant, Variable, Peak, Average, etc.
Conservation
Energy is conserved
Not conserved, depends on efficiency
Compare with Definitions
Energy
Inner strength as a resource.
He completed the race with energy to spare.
Power
A state having control or command over others.
After the elections, the party came into power.
Energy
The total work that can be produced by a system.
Nuclear reactors have a high energy output.
Power
A measure of how quickly work can be performed.
The engine's power determines the car's acceleration.
Energy
Spiritual or psychic force.
Some believe that crystals can channel positive energy.
Power
Electrical or mechanical energy output.
The generator has a maximum power output of 200 kW.
Energy
The ability to do work or produce change.
Food provides energy necessary for daily activities.
Power
Capability to influence or exert force.
Politicians often seek power.
Energy
Stored power potentially available for work.
The dam stores water at a height as potential energy.
Power
The rate at which energy is used or work is done.
High-power appliances consume more electricity.
Energy
In physics, energy is the quantitative property that must be transferred to a body or physical system to perform work on the body, or to heat it. Energy is a conserved quantity; the law of conservation of energy states that energy can be converted in form, but not created or destroyed.
Power
The ability or capacity to do something or act in a particular way
His powers of concentration
The power of speech
I will do everything in my power to help you
Energy
The capacity for work or vigorous activity
Who has the energy to climb that trail?.
Power
The capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events
She had me in her power
A political process that offers people power over their own lives
Energy
Also energies Exertion of vigor or power
A project requiring a great deal of time and energy.
Devoted her energies to writing songs.
Power
Physical strength and force exerted by something or someone
The lyrical power of his prose
The power of the storm
Energy
Vitality and intensity of expression
A speech delivered with energy and emotion.
Power
Energy that is produced by mechanical, electrical, or other means and used to operate a device
Generating power from waste
Power cables
Energy
(Informal) A nonphysical force or quality perceived as inhering in a particular place, person, or situation
Was turned off by the group's negative energy.
Power
The rate of doing work, measured in watts or less frequently horse power.
Energy
Usable heat or power
Each year Americans consume a high percentage of the world's energy.
Power
The product obtained when a number is multiplied by itself a certain number of times
2 to the power of 4 equals 16
Energy
A source of usable power, such as petroleum or coal.
Power
A large number or amount of something
There's a power of difference between farming now and when I was a lad
Energy
The capacity of a physical system to do work.
Power
Supply (a device) with mechanical or electrical energy
A nuclear-powered submarine
The car is powered by a fuel-injected 3.0-litre engine
Energy
A form, amount, or level of this capacity
"a searing beam of 30 trillion protons, with energies up to 50 million electronvolts" (Science News).
Power
Move or travel with great speed or force
He powered round a bend
Energy
The impetus behind all motion and all activity.
Power
The ability or capacity to act or do something effectively
Is it in your power to undo this injustice?.
Energy
The capacity to do work.
Power
Often powers A specific capacity, faculty, or aptitude
Her powers of concentration.
Energy
(physics) A quantity that denotes the ability to do work and is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance²/time² (ML²/T²) or the equivalent.
Power
Physical strength or force exerted or capable of being exerted
The power of the waves.
Energy
An intangible, modifiable force (often characterized as either 'positive' or 'negative') believed in some New Age religions to emanate from a person, place or thing and which is (or can be) preserved and transferred in human interactions; shared mood or group habit; a vibe, a feeling, an impression. aura.}}
Power
Effectiveness at moving one's emotions or changing how one thinks
A novel of great power.
Energy
The external actions and influences resulting from an entity’s internal nature (ousia) and by which it is made manifest, as opposed to that internal nature itself; the aspect of an entity that can affect the wider world and be apprehended by other beings.
Power
The ability or official capacity to exercise control; authority
How long has that party been in power?.
Energy
A measure of how many actions a player or unit can take; in the fantasy genre often called magic points or mana.
Action points
Power
The military strength or economic or political influence of a nation or other group
That country projects its power throughout the region.
Energy
Internal or inherent power; capacity of acting, operating, or producing an effect, whether exerted or not; as, men possessing energies may suffer them to lie inactive.
The great energies of nature are known to us only by their effects.
Power
A country, nation, or other political unit having great influence or control over others
The western powers.
Energy
Power efficiently and forcibly exerted; vigorous or effectual operation; as, the energy of a magistrate.
Power
A supernatural being
The powers of evil.
Energy
Strength of expression; force of utterance; power to impress the mind and arouse the feelings; life; spirit; - said of speech, language, words, style; as, a style full of energy.
Power
Powers(Christianity) The sixth of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology.
Energy
Capacity for performing work.
Power
The energy or motive force by which a physical system or machine is operated
Turbines turned by steam power.
A sailing ship driven by wind power.
Energy
(physics) the capacity of a physical system to do work; the units of energy are joules or ergs;
Energy can take a wide variety of forms
Power
The capacity of a system or machine to operate
A vehicle that runs under its own power.
Energy
An exertion of force;
He plays tennis with great energy
Power
Electrical or mechanical energy, especially as used to assist or replace human energy.
Energy
Enterprising or ambitious drive;
Europeans often laugh at American energy
Power
Electricity supplied to a home, building, or community
A storm that cut off power to the whole region.
Energy
An imaginative lively style (especially style of writing);
His writing conveys great energy
Power
(Physics) The rate at which work is done, expressed as the amount of work per unit time and commonly measured in units such as the watt and horsepower.
Energy
A healthy capacity for vigorous activity;
Jogging works off my excess energy
He seemed full of vim and vigor
Power
The product of applied potential difference and current in a direct-current circuit.
Energy
The federal department responsible for maintaining a national energy policy of the United States; created in 1977
Power
The product of the effective values of the voltage and current with the cosine of the phase angle between current and voltage in an alternating-current circuit.
Power
See exponent.
Power
The number of elements in a finite set.
Power
(Statistics) In a statistical test, the probability of correctly rejecting the null hypothesis when it is false.
Power
A measure of the magnification of an optical instrument, such as a microscope or telescope.
Power
Chiefly Upper Southern US A large number or amount. See Note at powerful.
Power
(Archaic) An armed force.
Power
Of or relating to political, social, or economic control
A power struggle.
A power base.
Power
Operated with mechanical or electrical energy in place of bodily exertion
A power tool.
Power car windows.
Power
Of or relating to the generation or transmission of electricity
Power companies.
Power lines.
Power
(Informal) Of or relating to influential business or professional practices
A pinstriped suit with a power tie.
Met with high-level executives at a power breakfast.
Power
To supply with power, especially mechanical or electrical power.
Power
The ability to do or undergo something.
Power
(social) The ability to coerce, influence, or control.
Power
(countable) The ability to affect or influence.
Power
Control or coercion, particularly legal or political (jurisdiction).
Power
The people in charge of legal or political power, the government.
Power
(metonymically) An influential nation, company, or other such body.
Power
An army, a military force.
Power
Effectiveness.
Power
Physical force or strength.
He needed a lot of power to hit the ball out of the stadium.
Power
Electricity or a supply of electricity.
After the pylons collapsed, this town was without power for a few days.
Power
A measure of the rate of doing work or transferring energy.
Power
The strength by which a lens or mirror magnifies an optical image.
We need a microscope with higher power.
Power
A large amount or number.
Power
Any of the elementary forms or parts of machines: three primary (the lever, inclined plane, and pulley) and three secondary (the wheel-and-axle, wedge, and screw).
The mechanical powers
Power
A measure of the effectiveness that a force producing a physical effect has over time. If linear, the quotient of: (force multiplied by the displacement of or in an object) ÷ time. If rotational, the quotient of: (force multiplied by the angle of displacement) ÷ time.
Power
(mathematics)
Power
A product of equal factors (and generalizations of this notion): , read as " to the power of " or the like, is called a power and denotes the product , where appears times in the product; is called the base and the exponent.
Power
(set theory) Cardinality.
Power
(statistics) The probability that a statistical test will reject the null hypothesis when the alternative hypothesis is true.
Power
In Christian angelology, an intermediate level of angels, ranked above archangels, but exact position varies by classification scheme.
Power
(transitive) To provide power for (a mechanical or electronic device).
This CD player is powered by batteries.
Power
(transitive) To hit or kick something forcefully.
Power
To enable or provide the impetus for.
Power
Impressive.
Power
Same as Poor, the fish.
Power
Ability to act, regarded as latent or inherent; the faculty of doing or performing something; capacity for action or performance; capability of producing an effect, whether physical or moral: potency; might; as, a man of great power; the power of capillary attraction; money gives power.
Power
Ability, regarded as put forth or exerted; strength, force, or energy in action; as, the power of steam in moving an engine; the power of truth, or of argument, in producing conviction; the power of enthusiasm.
Power
Capacity of undergoing or suffering; fitness to be acted upon; susceptibility; - called also passive power; as, great power of endurance.
Power, then, is active and passive; faculty is active power or capacity; capacity is passive power.
Power
The exercise of a faculty; the employment of strength; the exercise of any kind of control; influence; dominion; sway; command; government.
Power is no blessing in itself but when it is employed to protect the innocent.
Power
The agent exercising an ability to act; an individual invested with authority; an institution, or government, which exercises control; as, the great powers of Europe; hence, often, a superhuman agent; a spirit; a divinity.
And the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
Power
A military or naval force; an army or navy; a great host.
Never such a power . . . Was levied in the body of a land.
Power
A large quantity; a great number; as, a power o good things.
Power
The rate at which mechanical energy is exerted or mechanical work performed, as by an engine or other machine, or an animal, working continuously; as, an engine of twenty horse power.
Power
A mechanical agent; that from which useful mechanical energy is derived; as, water power; steam power; hand power, etc.
Power
The product arising from the multiplication of a number into itself; as, a square is the second power, and a cube is third power, of a number.
Power
A machine acted upon by an animal, and serving as a motor to drive other machinery; as, a dog power.
Power
Mental or moral ability to act; one of the faculties which are possessed by the mind or soul; as, the power of thinking, reasoning, judging, willing, fearing, hoping, etc.
The guiltiness of my mind, the sudden surprise of my powers, drove the grossness . . . into a received belief.
Power
The degree to which a lens, mirror, or any optical instrument, magnifies; in the telescope, and usually in the microscope, the number of times it multiplies, or augments, the apparent diameter of an object; sometimes, in microscopes, the number of times it multiplies the apparent surface.
Power
An authority enabling a person to dispose of an interest vested either in himself or in another person; ownership by appointment.
Power
Hence, vested authority to act in a given case; as, the business was referred to a committee with power.
Power
Possession of controlling influence;
The deterrent power of nuclear weapons
The power of his love saved her
His powerfulness was concealed by a gentle facade
Power
(physics) the rate of doing work; measured in watts (= joules/second)
Power
Possession of the qualities (especially mental qualities) required to do something or get something done;
Danger heightened his powers of discrimination
Power
A state powerful enough to influence events throughout the world
Power
(of a government or government official) holding an office means being in power;
Being in office already gives a candidate a great advantage
During his first year in office
During his first year in power
The power of the president
Power
One possessing or exercising power or influence or authority;
The mysterious presence of an evil power
May the force be with you
The forces of evil
Power
Physical strength
Power
A mathematical notation indicating the number of times a quantity is multiplied by itself
Power
A very wealthy or powerful businessman;
An oil baron
Power
Supply the force or power for the functioning of;
The gasoline powers the engines
Common Curiosities
What types of energy are there?
There are several types, including kinetic, potential, thermal, and chemical energy.
What is energy?
Energy is the capacity to perform work or produce change in a system.
Can energy be created or destroyed?
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another.
What is power?
Power is the rate at which work is performed or energy is converted over time.
How are energy and power measured?
Energy is measured in joules, while power is measured in watts.
Is power conserved like energy?
Power is not conserved and varies depending on system efficiency and energy transformation.
How can one increase the power output of a machine?
Increasing the efficiency of energy use or the rate of energy conversion can increase power.
What is the difference between peak power and average power?
Peak power is the maximum output possible, whereas average power is the output over a longer period.
What does power indicate in a physical context?
Power indicates how quickly energy can be transformed or work can be done.
How do power plants generate power?
Power plants convert various forms of energy into electrical energy, often using heat or kinetic energy.
What role does power play in electrical devices?
Power determines the effectiveness and efficiency of electrical devices in performing their functions.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
