What is brake horsepower?

Brake Horsepower is simply power rated at the output shaft or journal

The term is used in powertrain applications mostly, because moving parts (transmissions etc) use some percentage of output force to operate by demonstrating some element of loss (heat, noise etc) when in operation, its usefull in separating the power output(s) when disclosing them.

Abbreviations "BHP"

Not to be confused with "Output", or "Horsepower at the Wheels" Brake horse power is the unit of measurement of power. It is the rate at which work is done. It is the most common conversion factor for electrical power. Brake Horse Power is also known a "crank Horse power"

This is the measurement in horse power an engine will make while NOT driving any accessories.

These accessories include:

• Alternator
• Water pump
• Belts
• Power Steering
• AC
• Gear box
• Differential

and any other item driven by the engine that it does not need to directly run.

The testing is done currently in a way that measures these losses and figures out an Brake Horse Power rating