The power in watts is the rate at which energy is generated or used. Many utility companies will bill you based on how many watts of energy you used. The watt is basically how much energy an appliance uses.   Rated watts are the amount of watts needed to keep an appliance running. For example, refrigerators usually require 500 watts to keep running. You may need to know the watts in your home if you are trying to become more energy efficient, add solar panels, or use a generator. Electrical power comes in AC and DC currents. AC means alternating current; the electrical current constantly reverses direction and is used often in homes and offices. DC means direct current, and it means the current only travels in one direction. You will find it in things like battery packs.  Surge watts means the amount of watts needed to get an appliance started by igniting its motor or compressor. For example, it might take 2,000 watts to start the motor and compressor of a refrigerator. Watts are a basic unit of power (electric, mechanical, or thermal). The reason watts matter is because you can improve energy efficiency if you understand them.  Lower your watts, and you will improve energy efficiency and save money. Here’s an example. Let's say you are buying a light bulb, and one is 100 watts and the other is 23 watts. If the 100 Watt bulb is cheaper, you might assume it’s the better purchase. However, over time, the 23 Watt bulb will save you money. Do simple subtraction to determine the watt difference. In this case, that is 77 watts (100-23). Utility companies will often charge you using kilowatts. To find out the number of kilowatts, take the number of watts divided by 1,000. Then take the number of kilowatts multiplied by your hours of usage. This is the kilowatt/hr. Then, take kilowatt/hr and multiply that number by the cost of your energy. This is your annual cost. For example, let’s say you have 10 lights. They are each 100 watts. 10 X 100 = 1,000 watts. 1,000 Watts divided by 1,000 = 1 kW. Let’s say you’ve used 2,000 hours of energy. Thus, 1kW X 2,000 hours per year = 2,000 kwh. Let’s say your utility company charges you 10 cents for every kilowatt hour. You would take 2,000 kwh X .10 = $200, That's what it would cost you to use those bulbs for the year.
Understand why watts matter. Become more energy efficient.