Accurate voltage unit conversions are essential for engineers, electricians, and students working with electrical systems. Manually switching between units like millivolts, volts, and kilovolts is time-consuming and prone to errors, which can lead to costly mistakes in circuit design, equipment repairs, or lab experiments.
Our voltage unit converter simplifies this process by instantly and precisely translating values across units, from nanovolts to kilovolts. Just input your value, select the units, and instantly get reliable results, whether you’re troubleshooting a device or analyzing industrial power systems.
Definitions
What is Voltage?
Voltage is the push that gets electricity flowing through a wire, like the pressure that moves water through a pipe. Measured in volts, it tells you how much energy is driving electric charges between two points in a circuit. the higher the voltage, the stronger the push.[1]
What is Volt?
The Volt (V) is the SI (International System of Units) unit of electric potential and voltage. It measures the difference in electric energy between two points in a circuit. One volt means one ampere of current uses one watt of power.[2]
Voltage is the concept, and volts are how we measure it, similar to measuring distance in meters or temperature in Celsius.
SI Units
The SI unit system follows a decimal-based structure, where each unit is a multiple or fraction of 10 (10⁰, 10¹, 10², etc.). The table below lists the standard SI prefixes for volts, along with their symbols, multipliers, and names.[3]
| Submultiples | Multiples | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | SI symbol | Name | Value | SI symbol | Name |
| 10−1 V | dV | decivolt | 101 V | daV | decavolt |
| 10−2 V | cV | centivolt | 102 V | hV | hectovolt |
| 10−3 V | mV | millivolt | 103 V | kV | kilovolt |
| 10−6 V | μV | microvolt | 106 V | MV | megavolt |
| 10−9 V | nV | nanovolt | 109 V | GV | gigavolt |
| 10−12 V | pV | picovolt | 1012 V | TV | teravolt |
| 10−15 V | fV | femtovolt | 1015 V | PV | petavolt |
| 10−18 V | aV | attovolt | 1018 V | EV | exavolt |
| 10−21 V | zV | zeptovolt | 1021 V | ZV | zettavolt |
| 10−24 V | yV | yoctovolt | 1024 V | YV | yottavolt |
| 10−27 V | rV | rontovolt | 1027 V | RV | ronnavolt |
| 10−30 V | qV | quectovolt | 1030 V | QV | quettavolt |
These prefixes help simplify voltage measurements across a wide range of applications, from microelectronics to high-power systems.
Conversion table
The table below provides a quick reference for converting commonly used voltage units, ranging from nanovolts to gigavolts, to help you perform conversions efficiently.
| From | Nanovolt | Microvolt | Millivolt | Volt | Kilovolt | Megavolt | Gigavolt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 nanovolt = | 1 nV | 0.001 µV | 0.000001 mV | 0.000000001 V | 0.000000000001 kV | 0.000000000000001 MV | 0.000000000000000001 GV |
| 1 microvolt = | 1,000 nV | 1 µV | 0.001 mV | 0.000001 V | 0.000000001 kV | 0.000000000001 MV | 0.000000000000001 GV |
| 1 millivolt = | 1,000,000 nV | 1,000 µV | 1 mV | 0.001 V | 0.000001 kV | 0.000000001 MV | 0.000000000001 GV |
| 1 volt = | 1,000,000,000 nV | 1,000,000 µV | 1,000 mV | 1 V | 0.001 kV | 0.000001 MV | 0.000000001 GV |
| 1 kilovolt = | 1,000,000,000,000 nV | 1,000,000,000 µV | 1,000,000 mV | 1,000 V | 1 kV | 0.001 MV | 0.000001 GV |
| 1 megavolt = | 1,000,000,000,000,000 nV | 1,000,000,000,000 µV | 1,000,000,000 mV | 1,000,000 V | 1,000 kV | 1 MV | 0.001 GV |
| 1 gigavolt = | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 nV | 1,000,000,000,000,000 µV | 1,000,000,000,000 mV | 1,000,000,000 V | 1,000,000 kV | 1,000 MV | 1 GV |
Examples
The following examples demonstrate how to convert between different voltage units, helping you apply these calculations in practical scenarios.
Example 1: Measuring Sensor Output in a Circuit
Imagine you're working on an electronic temperature sensor that outputs a voltage signal based on temperature changes. The sensor provides a reading of 3,200 millivolts (mV), but your circuit design requires the value in volts (V) for calculations.
Solution
Use our conversion table above, we can see that 1 millivolt (mV) = 0.001 volts (V):
So to convert the sensor output's voltage to volts:
Therefore, the sensor’s output of 3,200 mV is equivalent to 3.2 V.
To solve the problem with our calculator, follow the steps below:
- Select the "From" unit – Choose
mV = Millivoltfrom the dropdown menu. - Select the "To" unit – Choose
V = Voltfrom the dropdown menu. - Enter the value in millivolts – For this example, enter
3,200into theFrombox. - View the result – The converter instantly calculates and displays the equivalent value in volts:
3.2 V.
Example 2: High-Voltage Power Transmission
You are working on an industrial power system that transmits electricity over long distances. The voltage is measured at 5 megavolts (MV), but you need to express it in kilovolts (kV) for compatibility with other system specifications.
Solution
Use our conversion table above, we can see that 1 megavolt (MV) = 1,000 kilovolts (kV):
So to convert the voltage from megavolts to kilovolts:
Therefore, the sensor’s output of 5 MV is equivalent to 5,000 kV.
To solve the problem with our calculator, follow the steps below:
- Select the "From" unit – Choose
MV = Megavoltfrom the dropdown menu. - Select the "To" unit – Choose
kV = Kilovoltsfrom the dropdown menu. - Enter the value in megavolt– For this example, enter
5into theFrombox. - View the result – The converter instantly calculates and displays the equivalent value in volts:
5,000 kV.
You now know how to convert between voltage units. You can quickly use our calculator to convert between the voltage units to save time for future calculations.
