Energy Perspective

Or more appropriately power perspective.

1 watt = 1 joule/sec
1 watt-hour = 3600 joules
1 kilowatt-hour = 3.6 joules
1 horsepower = 550 ft*lbsf/sec = 746 watts = 0.746 kilowatts = 746 joules/sec
150 horsepower = 111.9 kilowatts = 111900 joules/sec
1 gallon of gasoline ~ 100000000 joules (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/Numbers/Math/Mathematical_Thinking/jeep_to_estimate.htm)

So what's with all the unit conversions? Well I wanted to try and provide a basis for comparisons. We get our energy in these units that while are meaningful comparing from event to event ("wow, my electric bill is down 100 KWh this month") but seem kind of abstract when comparing it to the amount of energy it takes to go get a beer from the fridge ("all the way over there!?!") or the chemical energy stored in the beer itself (not to be confused with the energy it took to get the beer in the can and to your fridge).