BTU to kWh
Convert BTU (energy) to kilowatt-hours at the fixed ratio 1 kWh = 3,412.142 BTU.
Interactive
Scale explorer for BTU to kWh
Drag the slider or click a tier to see where your BTU value lands on the equipment scale — with live kWh output.
Visual scale
BTU vs other energy units (in joules)
Energy magnitudes across imperial, SI, and gas-billing units.
Fundamentals
What is BTU to kWh?
BTU to kWh converts British Thermal Units to kilowatt-hours by dividing the BTU value by 3,412.142. 1 kilowatt-hour equals 3,412.142 BTU (international BTU) of energy. The formula is E(kWh) = E(BTU) ÷ 3,412.142 or E(kWh) = E(BTU) × 0.00029307. This page covers the energy form — total quantity of heat, not the rate (BTU/hr) used on equipment nameplates. Use it for utility bill comparisons, gas-vs-electric cost analysis, and annual building-load summaries.
A BTU is a unit of energy: the heat required to raise one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. A kilowatt-hour is also a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power delivered for one hour. Both measure the same physical quantity in different unit systems.
Because BTU is an energy quantity, not a rate, conversion to kWh is a single-factor division with no time dependency. The factor 3,412.142 comes from 3,600,000 joules per kWh divided by 1,055.056 joules per BTU.
This conversion appears every time gas (priced per therm or MMBTU) is compared with electricity (priced per kWh). Both quantities must be in the same unit before the cost comparison is meaningful.
Formula
BTU to kWh formula
Convert 100,000 BTU of natural gas energy — roughly one therm — to kWh. The result, 29.31 kWh, is the equivalent electrical energy at 100% conversion efficiency.
How to convert BTU to kWh
Three steps complete the conversion:
Annual heating loads, utility bill totals, and food-calorie equivalents all measure energy in BTU.
The result is kWh of equivalent energy. No time component is needed.
Multiply by your electric rate to get the dollar equivalent of the same energy delivered as electricity.
Applications
When to convert BTU to kWh
Real-world scenarios where this conversion shows up in engineering, HVAC, and equipment specification work.
Convert natural-gas BTU to kWh, then compare at the local electric rate to see which fuel is cheaper per unit of heat.
Annual building-energy use is often summed in BTU; reporting tools and benchmarking certifications require kWh.
Convert annual heating BTU loads to kWh to size a PV array that could offset gas usage with electric heat pump alternatives.
Translate heating-fuel BTU to kWh to estimate the battery capacity that would store the same energy.
Carbon emissions per kWh and per BTU need a common unit before comparison; this converter is the bridge.
Guidance
Tips and common pitfalls
Don't confuse BTU (total heat) with BTU/hr (rate of heat). Equipment labels use BTU/hr; bills and audits use BTU.
kWh implies an hour-long delivery at the rated power. Energy total is independent of how fast it's delivered.
100,000 BTU of natural gas burned at 90% furnace efficiency delivers only 90,000 BTU (≈ 26.4 kWh) of useful heat.
Reference
BTU to kWh conversion table
| British Thermal Units (BTU) | Kilowatt-hours (kWh) |
|---|---|
| 1,000 BTU | 0.293071 kWh |
| 5,000 BTU | 1.4654 kWh |
| 10,000 BTU | 2.9307 kWh |
| 25,000 BTU | 7.3268 kWh |
| 50,000 BTU | 14.6536 kWh |
| 100,000 BTU | 29.3071 kWh |
| 250,000 BTU | 73.2678 kWh |
| 500,000 BTU | 146.54 kWh |
| 1,000,000 BTU | 293.07 kWh |
| 2,500,000 BTU | 732.68 kWh |
| 5,000,000 BTU | 1,465.36 kWh |
| 10,000,000 BTU | 2,930.71 kWh |
In practice
Industry context and practical notes
Homeowners debating gas furnace vs heat pump start with cost per BTU of useful heat. Gas: divide the price per therm by 100,000 (BTU per therm), then divide by AFUE (typically 0.92 for high-efficiency). Electric: divide the price per kWh by 3,412, then multiply by COP (typically 2.5-4 for heat pumps). The two numbers — $ per useful BTU — are directly comparable. The conversion BTU ↔ kWh is the crucial step. Without it, you're comparing apples and oranges.
Climate analyses translate fuel BTU to electric-equivalent kWh, then apply grid-specific emissions factors (kg CO₂ per kWh) to compute carbon intensity. A natural-gas-burned BTU has a fixed carbon factor (~117 g CO₂/MMBTU); an electric-kWh varies by region (50 g/kWh in renewable-heavy California, 800+ g/kWh in coal-heavy Wyoming). The BTU-to-kWh conversion is the connector that lets policy modelers compare them on an apples-to-apples basis. Modern decarbonization studies live on this single conversion factor.
The therm — a common natural-gas billing unit — is exactly 100,000 BTU. So 1 therm = 29.3071 kWh. This is the cleanest mental anchor for translating gas bills to electric-equivalent energy.
Questions
Frequently asked
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