Why do we refer to phone battery capacity in mAh but EVs in kWh?
In: 1
Because of how they are used–although it should be noted that LiPo batteries are also frequently specified using a Wh rating.
When dealing with small electronics we generally aren’t trying to pump out a lot of power. We are more concerned with a steady state usage and trying to minimize power usage. IC’s can use different voltages (sometimes multiple different voltages) so calculating the power usage of components can be a bit tricky–we tend to just consider typical current draw. This value is almost always provided by the manufacturer. Because we know current draw, it is more direct for us to calculate the length of time our device will run based upon amps instead of power (it is an extra step to get to power).
With EVs, most of what you are doing is trying to output a lot of energy quickly–this is power. The motors which use the majority of the energy are rated in power (kW or HP). Since your major power consumers are rated in power, it makes sense to specify the battery capacity in a power*hour unit (kWh).
Latest Answers