How to convert British thermal units to joules
- Take the value in British thermal units.
- Use the formula joules = British thermal units × 1,055.055853.
- For example, 1 BTU is 1,055.06 J.
About British thermal units and joules
A British thermal unit is roughly the heat needed to warm one pound of water by 1 °F. This page uses the International Table BTU, 1,055.05585 J, the one used in US energy data and equipment ratings. Multiply BTU by 1,055.06 to get joules, or treat 1 BTU as about 1.055 kJ.
Gas bills, furnace and water heater ratings, and US energy statistics use BTU, therms and quads, while science and most of the world use joules. One therm is 100,000 BTU, which is 105.5 MJ.
Examples
- 1 BTU (heat to warm a pound of water by 1 °F) is 1,055.06 J
- 3,412.14 BTU (one kilowatt-hour) is 3,599,998.28 J
- 12,000 BTU (an hour of a 1-ton air conditioner) is 12,660,670.23 J
- 100,000 BTU (one therm of natural gas) is 105,505,585.26 J
British thermal units to joules chart
| British thermal units (BTU) | Joules (J) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1,055.06 |
| 5 | 5,275.28 |
| 10 | 10,550.56 |
| 50 | 52,752.79 |
| 100 | 105,505.59 |
| 500 | 527,527.93 |
| 948 | 1,000,192.95 |
| 1,000 | 1,055,055.85 |
| 2,000 | 2,110,111.71 |
| British thermal units (BTU) | Joules (J) |
|---|---|
| 3,412.14 | 3,599,998.28 |
| 5,000 | 5,275,279.26 |
| 10,000 | 10,550,558.53 |
| 12,000 | 12,660,670.23 |
| 20,000 | 21,101,117.05 |
| 50,000 | 52,752,792.63 |
| 100,000 | 105,505,585.26 |
| 500,000 | 527,527,926.31 |
| 1,000,000 | 1,055,055,852.62 |