Kilowatts to Amps Calculator
Convert electric power in kilowatts (kW) to current in amps (A). Pick the circuit type — DC, AC single-phase or AC three-phase (line-to-line or line-to-neutral) — enter the power, voltage and power factor, then press Calculate. The current appears in amps and milliamps. Everything runs locally in your browser.
Choose the circuit type
Direct Current (DC), AC single-phase, or AC three-phase. Three-phase adds a voltage-type choice: line-to-line or line-to-neutral. AC modes also ask for the power factor (0 to 1).
Enter power and voltage
Type the power in mW, W or kW (kilowatts is the default) and the voltage in mV, V or kV — scientific notation like 5e3 works too. The swap button flips the calculator to amps-to-kilowatts if you need the reverse.
Press Calculate, read amps
The current appears in amps (A) and milliamps (mA), shown to at most ten significant digits. Copy either readout to your clipboard, or press Reset to start over.
How kilowatts become amps
- What is the DC kilowatts-to-amps formula?
- The current I in amps (A) is equal to 1000 times the power P in kilowatts (kW), divided by the voltage V in volts (V): I = 1000 × P / V. Worked example: P = 1 kW at V = 250 V gives I = 1000 × 1 / 250 = 4 A.
- How does AC single-phase differ?
- The phase current I in amps is equal to 1000 times the power P in kilowatts divided by the power factor PF times the RMS voltage V: I = 1000 × P / (PF × V). Worked example: P = 1.84 kW, V = 230 V, PF = 0.8 gives I = 10 A.
- What about AC three-phase?
- For a line-to-line voltage the phase current is I = 1000 × P / (√3 × PF × V); for a line-to-neutral voltage it is I = 1000 × P / (3 × PF × V). So 3 kW at PF 0.85 across 400 V is 5.094267 A line-to-line but only 2.941176 A line-to-neutral — the voltage type changes the denominator from √3 to 3.
- Which power factor should I use?
- See the typical values table below. Do not use typical power factor values for accurate calculations — measure or check the nameplate.
- When does the calculator show an error?
- Voltage of 0 V is rejected (the current would divide by zero), and so is a power factor outside 0 to 1 for AC. A result beyond the number range reports "Result is too large to display" instead of printing Infinity; zero power is always valid and gives 0 A.
Typical power factor values
Do not use typical power factor values for accurate calculations.
| Device | Typical power factor |
|---|---|
| Resistive load | 1 |
| Fluorescent lamp | 0.95 |
| Incandescent lamp | 1 |
| Induction motor (full load) | 0.85 |
| Induction motor (no load) | 0.35 |
| Resistive oven | 1 |
| Synchronous motor | 0.9 |
Privacy: every calculation runs in your browser tab — no value you type is sent anywhere. Copy result uses your clipboard only. Results are ideal circuit-theory figures; verify real installations with a multimeter.