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ENERGY UNITS
 

What is a Btu?

Btu stands for British Thermal Unit, which is a unit of energy consumed by or delivered to a building. A Btu is defined as the amount of energy required to increase the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit, at normal atmospheric pressure.

Energy consumption is expressed in BTU to allow for consumption comparisons among fuels that are measured in different units. 

BTU Conversion Factors:
The Btu conversion factors used for this survey are shown in the following table:   

Energy Source   Btu Equivalent   Unit
Electricity       3,412    kilowatt hour (kWh)
Natural Gas       1,027    cubic foot 
All types of Fuel Oil except Kerosene   138,690    gallon 
Kerosene   135,000    gallon 
         
Note: A Btu of district hot water has been converted into equivalent pounds of steam with the conversion of 1,000 Btu hot water approximately = 1 pound steam.

Sources: Energy Information Administration; for natural gas — Natural Gas Annual (1992), p. 238; for electricity, fuel oil and kerosene — Monthly Energy Review (October, 1997); for district steam — Methodological Issues in the Nonresidential Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (September 1983), p. 173-175.

Examples
BTU to Kilowatt hours:      2,000,000 Btu / 3,412             =         586       kWh
Kilowatt hours to BTU:      800 kWh * 3,412                    =  2,729,600     BTU
BTU to Cubic feet:            2,000,000 Btu / 1,027            =        1,947     cubic feet
Cubic feet to BTU:            800 cubic feet * 1,027           =     821,600     BTU

FUEL OIL CONVERSION

  1 Barrell                   =    42 gallons

  1 Dth natural gas       =    7 gallons of # 2 oil


  # 2 oil      7.143 gallons        =     1 MMBtu
  # 4 oil      6.826 gallons        =     1 MMBtu
  # 6 oil      6.667 gallons        =     1 MMBtu



ELECTRICITY:
 Demand            1 MW           =     1,000 KW
  Consumption    1 KWH         =      1KW x 1 hour



TIME:

  1 year        =     8,760 hours

...............................................................................

Relative Btu Content 
of Primary and Secondary Fuels

Fuel

  Unit  Btu/unit

MBtu
 # 2 Fuel Oil gallon (US) 139,000 139
 # 6 Fuel Oil gallon (US) 150,000 150
 Coal - Anthracite ton 15,200,000 15,200
 Coal - Bituminous Low Volatile ton 22,000,000 22,000
 Coal - High Volatile ton 28,600,000 28,600
 Coal - Lignite (Brown Coal) ton 13,800,000 13,800
 District Steam (Secondary) pound 1,000 1
 District Steam (Secondary) Kilo-pound 1,000,000 1,000
 Electricity kwh 3412 3.412
 Natural Gas (Dth) dekatherm 1,000,000 1,000
 Natural Gas cubic feet 1,034 1.034
 Propane (LP Gas) gallon (US) 92,000 92
 Propane (LP Gas) pound 21,698 22

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Energy Units Conversion Table

The following table provides the multiplier to convert a unit of measure to kBtu:

 

  1. Locate the energy source and the applicable unit of measure.

  2. Select the conversion multiplier from the right column.

  3. Multiply non-kBtu units of energy by multiplier and this converts the energy unit to kBtu equivalent.

 

Energy Source

Unit of Measure

Multiplier

Chilled Water

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Chilled Water

Ton Hours

12

Coal (anthracite)

Lbs. (pounds)

12.5008

Coal (anthracite)

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Coal (anthracite)

KLbs. (thousand pounds)

11625

Coal (anthracite)

MLbs. (million pounds)

11625000

Coal (anthracite)

Tons

25001.5

Coal (bituminous)

Lbs. (pounds)

12.0007

Coal (bituminous)

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Coal (bituminous)

KLbs. (thousand pounds)

11160

Coal (bituminous)

MLbs. (million pounds)

11160000

Coal (bituminous)

Tons

24001.44

Coke

Lbs. (pounds)

12.40007

Coke

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Coke

KLbs. (thousand pounds)

11532

Coke

MLbs. (million pounds)

11532000

Coke

Tons

24801.488

Diesel (No. 2)

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Diesel (No. 2)

Gallons

138.1083

Electricity

kWh (thousand Watt-hours)

3.412

Electricity

MWh (million Watt-hours)

3412

Electricity

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Fuel Oil (No. 1)

kBtu/Sq. Ft.

1

Fuel Oil (No. 1)

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Fuel Oil (No. 1)

Gallons

134.9999811

Fuel Oil (No. 2)

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Fuel Oil (No. 2)

Gallons

139.99998

Fuel Oil (No. 4)

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Fuel Oil (No. 4)

Gallons

145.5

Fuel Oil (No. 5 & No. 6)

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Fuel Oil (No. 5 & No. 6)

Gallons

149.689979

Kerosene

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Kerosene

Gallons

134.9838

Liquid Propane

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Liquid Propane

kcf (thousand cubic feet)

1000.06

Liquid Propane

Gallons

90.0054

Liquid Propane

cf (cubic feet)

1.0336235

Natural Gas

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Natural Gas

ccf (hundred cubic feet)

101.3

Natural Gas

therms

100

Natural Gas

kcf (thousand cubic feet)

1013

Natural Gas

cf (cubic feet)

1.013

Natural Gas

MCF (million cubic feet)

1013000

Propane

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Propane

kcf (thousand cubic feet)

1000.06

Propane

Gallons

90.0054

Propane

cf (cubic feet)

1.0336235

Steam

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Steam

KLbs. (thousand pounds)

1003.342

Steam

MLbs. (million pounds)

1003342

Wood

MBtu (million Btu)

1000

Wood

Tons

16783.2