Electric Potential Converter
Convert electric potential, also called voltage, between volt, kilovolt, millivolt, watt per ampere, abvolt, statvolt and the CGS EMU and ESU units. Pick two units, enter a value and read the result instantly.
Select two units to see the conversion factor.
This tool converts electric potential (V) only. It is not electric field strength (V/m), not energy (J or eV) and not electric current.
Electric Potential Formula
Every potential unit is a fixed multiple of the volt. Result = value × (source factor ÷ target factor). Metric prefixes are exact powers of ten: 1 kV = 1,000 V and 1 mV = 0.001 V. A volt is also a watt per ampere, a joule per coulomb. The CGS units are exact too: 1 abvolt = 10⁻⁸ V, and 1 statvolt = 299.792458 V, derived from the exact speed of light.
What Is Electric Potential?
Electric potential is the electric potential energy per unit of charge at a point. The difference in potential between two points is the voltage, or potential difference, and it is what drives current through a circuit. The SI unit is the volt (V): one volt is one joule of energy per coulomb of charge, which is also one watt per ampere. So a 12 V battery gives 12 J to each coulomb that passes through it.
Voltages in practice span many orders of magnitude. Nerve and sensor signals are measured in millivolts, a single battery cell in about 1.5 V, household mains in 120 V or 230 V, power distribution lines in kilovolts (11 kV, 33 kV, 132 kV) and transmission lines up to hundreds of kilovolts. That is why the millivolt and kilovolt sit next to the volt.
The watt per ampere is simply another way of writing the volt. The abvolt (the EMU of electric potential) is the electromagnetic CGS unit, 10⁻⁸ V, so tiny that it is almost never used except to explain old texts. The statvolt (the ESU of electric potential) is the electrostatic CGS unit, about 299.79 V, and is the volt of Gaussian-unit physics books.
Do not confuse potential with related quantities. Electric field strength is potential change per distance, in V/m (Electric Field Strength Converter). Potential is also not energy: the electronvolt is a unit of energy equal to the work of moving one elementary charge through one volt, and is not offered here. Nor is it current (Current Converter), which is the flow the voltage drives.
Supported Units
This converter supports the following 8 electric potential units. The last column gives the value of each unit in the base unit, the volt. The abvolt equals the EMU of electric potential, and the statvolt equals the ESU of electric potential. The watt per ampere equals the volt.
| Unit | Symbol | Value in V |
|---|---|---|
| Volt | V | 1 |
| Kilovolt | kV | 1,000 |
| Millivolt | mV | 0.001 |
| Watt per ampere | W/A | 1 |
| Abvolt | abV | 1e-8 |
| EMU of electric potential | EMU | 1e-8 |
| Statvolt | statV | 299.792458 |
| ESU of electric potential | ESU | 299.792458 |
How to Use the Electric Potential Converter
- Type the electric potential in the value box. Decimals and scientific notation such as 0.0025 or 2.5e-3 are accepted.
- Choose the From unit and the To unit.
- The result appears instantly, or press Convert Now. Very large or very small results are shown in scientific notation.
- Use Swap Units to reverse the conversion, Copy Result to copy the answer, open Show this value in all units for a full list, and Clear to start again.
Step-by-step by hand
- Find the size of each unit in the common base unit (V): 1 kV = 1,000 V and 1 V = 1 V.
- Divide the source size by the target size to get the conversion factor: 1,000 ÷ 1 = 1,000, so 1 kV = 1,000 V.
- Multiply by your value: 11 kV × 1,000 = 11,000 V.
Potential can be positive or negative (the sign shows polarity relative to the reference), so a minus sign is accepted. Zero is also valid.
Common Electric Potential Conversions
- Distribution voltage: 11 kV equals 11,000 V.
- Sensor signal: 250 mV equals 0.25 V.
- Transmission line: 400 kV equals 400,000 V.
- Millivolts to kilovolts: 5,000,000 mV equals 5 kV.
- Mains voltage to statvolts: 230 V equals 0.767197419 statV.
- CGS to SI: 1 statvolt equals 299.792458 V, and 1 abvolt equals 1e-8 V.
Volt to Other Electric Potential Units
Quick reference for frequently used values
| Volt (V) | Millivolt (mV) | Kilovolt (kV) | Statvolt |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.001 | 1 | 1e-6 | 3.335640952e-6 |
| 1 | 1,000 | 0.001 | 0.003335640952 |
| 1.5 | 1,500 | 0.0015 | 0.005003461428 |
| 5 | 5,000 | 0.005 | 0.01667820476 |
| 12 | 12,000 | 0.012 | 0.04002769142 |
| 120 | 120,000 | 0.12 | 0.4002769142 |
| 230 | 230,000 | 0.23 | 0.767197419 |
| 1,000 | 1,000,000 | 1 | 3.335640952 |
| 11,000 | 11,000,000 | 11 | 36.69205047 |
Where and Why This Conversion Is Used
- Electronics: supply rails in V, sensor and amplifier signals in mV.
- Electrical power: distribution and transmission ratings in kV.
- Battery and measurement work: cell voltages, thermocouple and strain-gauge outputs.
- Electrostatics and high voltage: test voltages and discharge levels.
- Physics education: moving between SI volts and the Gaussian statvolt.
Limitations
- For AC, RMS, peak and peak-to-peak values are different numbers. This tool changes units only and does not convert between them.
- Voltage in volts cannot be turned into power without a current, or into field strength without a distance.
Important Differences Between Related Electrical Measurements
- Electric potential, V is energy per charge. Electric field strength, V/m is how fast that potential changes with distance. A 1,000 V difference across 1 mm is 1 MV/m.
- Potential vs energy: a volt is a joule per coulomb. The energy gained by a charge is E = Q × V, so one elementary charge crossing 1 V gains 1 electronvolt, which is a unit of energy.
- Voltage vs current: voltage is the push, current is the flow. They are tied by resistance, V = I × R, and by power, P = V × I.
- Voltage vs EMF: an electromotive force is a source of voltage such as a battery. Both are measured in volts, but EMF refers to the source and potential difference to any two points in a circuit.
Each converter on this site changes units within one quantity only, and none of them mixes quantities. The related tools are: Charge, Current, Linear Charge Density, Surface Charge Density, Volume Charge Density, Linear Current Density, Surface Current Density, Electric Field Strength, Electric Potential, Electric Resistance, Electric Resistivity, Electric Conductance, Electric Conductivity, Electrostatic Capacitance and Inductance.