BTU to kWh Converter
Type BTU to get kWh. 12,000 BTU, the heat a one-ton air conditioner moves in an hour, is about 3.5 kWh.
12,000 Btu =
3.5169kWh
12,000 British thermal units is 3.5169 kilowatt-hours.
- 1 Btu
- 0.0002931 kWh
- 1 kWh
- 3,412.14 Btu
How to convert BTU to kWh
Divide British thermal units by 3,412.14. The International Table Btu is 1,055.05585262 J and a kilowatt-hour is 3,600,000 J, so one kWh holds 3,412.14 Btu. The divisor is rounded to six figures; the converter uses the exact values.
A US therm of natural gas is 100,000 Btu: 100,000 ÷ 3,412.14 = 29.31 kWh. That makes it easy to compare a gas bill priced per therm with an electricity bill priced per kWh.
Heating and cooling equipment is usually rated in Btu per hour, a power. Divide by 3,412.14 to get kW: a 60,000 Btu/h furnace is a 17.6 kW heater.
kilowatt-hours = British thermal units ÷ 3,412.14 (rounded)
- NIST lists the International Table Btu as 1,055.056 J and a ton of refrigeration (12,000 Btu per hour) as 3.516 853 kW. Source: NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8: conversion factors by unit.
How to estimate BTU to kWh in your head
Count thousands of Btu and multiply by 0.3. 24,000 Btu is 24 × 0.3 = 7.2 kWh; the exact figure is 7.03, so trim about 2%. Or remember that 3,400 Btu is almost exactly one kWh.
BTU to kWh table
Heating, cooling and gas quantities in kilowatt-hours (or kW, for Btu per hour).
| British thermal units (Btu) | Kilowatt-hours (kWh) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.0002931 | |
| 100 | 0.02931 | |
| 500 | 0.1465 | |
| 1,000 | 0.2931 | |
| 3,412 | 1 | about one kWh |
| 5,000 | 1.4654 | |
| 6,000 | 1.7584 | |
| 8,000 | 2.3446 | |
| 9,000 | 2.6376 | |
| 10,000 | 2.9307 |
Show all 19 rowsShow fewer
| 12,000 | 3.5169 | one ton of air conditioning (per hour) |
| 15,000 | 4.3961 | |
| 18,000 | 5.2753 | |
| 24,000 | 7.0337 | |
| 36,000 | 10.5506 | |
| 48,000 | 14.0674 | |
| 60,000 | 17.5843 | a mid-size furnace (per hour) |
| 100,000 | 29.3071 | one US therm of gas |
| 1,000,000 | 293.071 | one MMBtu of gas |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many kWh is 12,000 BTU?
12,000 Btu is 3.517 kWh. An air conditioner rated 12,000 Btu/h (one “ton”) moves 3.5 kW of heat; the electricity it draws is lower, because air conditioners move more heat than they consume.
How do I compare a gas furnace with a heat pump?
Put both in kWh. A furnace rated 60,000 Btu/h is about 17.6 kW of output. For running cost, convert your gas price per therm into a price per kWh by dividing by 29.31.
What is the difference between BTU and BTU/h?
Btu is an amount of energy; Btu/h is a rate, like kWh against kW. Air conditioner labels say “BTU” but mean Btu per hour.