Can someone help me understand the seemingly absurd standards of energy measurement for storage and usage?

Can someone help me understand the seemingly absurd standards of energy measurement for storage and usage?
  1. I see products marked as using 1186 W with DC Power @12V. I can't help but think energy usage should be measured over time. Does 1186W mean 1186W per hour?

  2. Same question applied to solar panels. A 3'x5' panel is advertised at providing 265 watts. Does this mean watts per hour? With ideal conditions, would I need ~5 of these panels to power my 1186 W device for one hour?

  3. I see that the amount of energy I use on a monthly basis is measured in kwh, which again seems completely absurd because if anything, this should just be measured in watts. If I am using 656kwh / month, would I need 2,562 hours total of active 256W panels to cover my electricity usage?

Thanks so much in advance. It's super interesting to me that the units of measure of electrical power are inverted of what one might intuit. Rates are measured in fixed values (W), and fixed values are measured in rates (kwh).

submitted by /u/jedininjaman
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