In 1 petawatts there are 1,000,000,000,000,000 watts. Meanwhile in 1 watts there are 1.00000e-15 petawatts. Keep reading to learn more about each unit of measure and how they are calculated. Or just use the Watts to Petawatts calculator above to convert any number.
* Values rounded to 6 decimal places for readability
To convert petawatts (PW) to watts (W), use the SI prefix rule: peta- means 10¹⁵. That means 1 petawatt equals 1,000,000,000,000,000 watts.
Conversion formula:
Quick examples:
When converting large power values like petawatts to watts, rounding can change the last digits, so keep enough decimal places if you need exact results.
One petawatt equals 1,000,000,000,000,000 watts.
That’s 10^15 watts.
Use this simple formula:
watts (W) = petawatts (PW) × 10^15
So, 2 PW = 2 × 10^15 W.
Multiply the petawatt value by 1,000,000,000,000,000.
You can also move the decimal point 15 places to the right.
Example:
0.5 PW = 0.5 × 1,000,000,000,000,000 = 500,000,000,000,000 W
A petawatt is used for extreme power levels. You’ll see it in laser physics, short pulse systems, and large-scale energy talk. Most daily devices use watts, kilowatts, or megawatts instead.
“Peta-” is an SI prefix that means 10^15 (one quadrillion).
So a petawatt is a quadrillion watts.
Yes. A watt is a joule per second, so:
1 PW = 10^15 W = 10^15 joules per second
This matters in physics and energy rate problems.
Power grids are usually measured in gigawatts (GW) or terawatts (TW), not petawatts. Petawatt levels are far beyond normal grid output and are more common in short, intense lab bursts.
Petawatt figures often show up in high-power laser systems. These systems can reach petawatt peaks for a tiny fraction of a second. That peak power is not the same as long-term power use.
Divide watts by 10^15:
petawatts (PW) = watts (W) ÷ 10^15
Example:
3,000,000,000,000,000 W ÷ 10^15 = 3 PW
Power is the rate of energy use. Energy adds up over time.
A laser can have petawatt peak power but still use a modest total energy if the pulse is very short.
You don’t have to, but it helps keep numbers readable.
Many watt results from petawatts have 16 digits or more.
Example:
1.2 PW = 1.2 × 10^15 W = 1,200,000,000,000,000 W
Yes. The watt is an SI unit. The prefix “peta-” is also SI, so petawatt (PW) is a valid SI-based unit.
The Calculate Box tool to convert petawatts to watts uses the open source script Convert.js to convert units of measurement. To use this tool, simply type a petawatts value in the box and have it instantly converted to watts.