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 |
|
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
Specific questions may be directed to:
Joelle Michaels
joelle.michaels@eia.doe.gov
CBECS Manager
Phone: (202) 586-8952
FAX: (202) 586-0018
Release date: January 21, 2003
Page last modified:
January 16, 2003 11:12 AM
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