How to convert British thermal units to kilowatt-hours
- Take the value in British thermal units.
- Use the formula kilowatt-hours = British thermal units × 0.00029307107.
- For example, 1 BTU is 0.000293 kWh.
About British thermal units and kilowatt-hours
One British thermal unit is 0.000293071 kWh, so multiply BTU by 0.000293071 or divide by 3,412.14 to get kilowatt-hours. Dividing by 3,412 is accurate to four figures.
The BTU began as the heat needed to warm one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. It is still how the US prices natural gas (per therm or per MMBtu) and rates furnaces and air conditioners, while electricity is sold by the kWh.
Examples
- 1 BTU (warming 1 lb of water by 1 °F) is 0.000293 kWh
- 12,000 BTU (one hour of a 1-ton air conditioner at full output) is 3.52 kWh
- 100,000 BTU (one therm of natural gas) is 29.31 kWh
- 1,000,000 BTU (one MMBtu, the unit US natural gas is priced in) is 293.07 kWh
British thermal units to kilowatt-hours chart
| British thermal units (BTU) | Kilowatt-hours (kWh) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.000293 |
| 100 | 0.0293 |
| 500 | 0.147 |
| 1,000 | 0.293 |
| 3,412 | 1 |
| 5,000 | 1.47 |
| 6,000 | 1.76 |
| 8,000 | 2.34 |
| 10,000 | 2.93 |
| 12,000 | 3.52 |
| British thermal units (BTU) | Kilowatt-hours (kWh) |
|---|---|
| 15,000 | 4.4 |
| 18,000 | 5.28 |
| 24,000 | 7.03 |
| 30,000 | 8.79 |
| 36,000 | 10.55 |
| 50,000 | 14.65 |
| 60,000 | 17.58 |
| 100,000 | 29.31 |
| 1,000,000 | 293.07 |