What is a kVA ?

The kVA (kilovolt-ampere) is a measure of power similar to a kW (kilowatt) (1 kVA = 1000 VA)

Depending on whether you are in an AC (alternating current) or DC (direct current), one kVA will be roughly equal to 1 kW.

• 1 kVA ~ 1 kW

In fact, this is true for DC currents (not for AC currents), but there is no need to get too technical for you to understand the basic concept.

As discussed in our What is a kilowatt page, most appliances show the power consumption of the appliance in watts, or kilowatts. But in some cases, appliances might not show the power directly in watts. What they do always show is the Amperage (in Amps, or A), and the Voltage (in Volts, or V). You can see this on the image:

Here, in the output (in the wire going out of the charger towards the laptop computer), the Voltage is 19.5V, and the Amperage is 3.34A.

If you multiply these 2 numbers together, you obtain: 19.5V x 3.34A = 65.13 VA ~ 65 W. This indeed corresponds to the 65 watts indicated in the red circle on the photograph