Wattage (W or P) is the rate of energy flow. Two things move in electrical circuits—charges and energy. Charges move slowly around or back and forth in a circuit, never leaving.Energy moves almost instantaneously from generating source to load, changing form.Wattage is the rate of energy movement. Other related terms are watts, power, and joules per second. It’s a rate, not a quantity of “stuff.”

There is a clear, technical difference between “power” (watts) and “energy,” (watt-hours). We would be less confused about them if we would observe this difference when we speak and write. In common speech, “power” is very often used to mean “energy,” so it’s no surprise that many people don’t understand the difference. 1 watt = 1
joule per second.