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		kilowatthour (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 Kilowatthours: 2,000,000 Btu / 3,412 = 586 kWh
Kilowatthours 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

Release date: January 21, 2003
Page last modified: January 16, 2003 11:12 AM
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cbecs/pba99/publicorder/puborderbtu.html

If you are having any technical problems with this site, please contact the EIA webmaster at wmaster@eia.doe.gov.