BTU Converter

Energy in the International System of Units is measured in joules, where one joule is the work done by a force of one newton moving an object one metre. The symbol is J.

Physics and engineering use the joule for mechanical work, heat, radiation and electrical energy, and small appliance labels sometimes state a surge or pulse rating in joules.

One kilojoule is exactly 1,000 joules, and the symbol is kJ. It is the joule multiple that food packaging commonly prints, with energy shown in kilojoules beside kilocalories, and chemistry uses it for reaction energies.

Nutrition panels, exercise machines and dietary advice report energy in kilojoules wherever the metric system is used. Materials and fuel data, such as energy content per kilogram, are tabulated in kilojoules as well.

One megajoule is 1,000 kilojoules, which is one million joules. Fuels, industrial processes and large energy figures are quoted in megajoules when a count in joules would be unwieldy.

Fuel energy content, blast energy, industrial process heat and large-scale storage are described in megajoules. Engineering calculations for combustion and materials testing also use the unit.

The kilowatt-hour is the energy of one kilowatt sustained for one hour, and it is exactly 3.6 megajoules. Its symbol is kWh, and it equals 1,000 watt-hours.

Electricity bills, prepaid meter units, solar generation totals and battery or power-bank capacity are all measured in kilowatt-hours. Appliance consumption over time is compared in the same unit.

One thermochemical calorie is exactly 4.184 joules, a definition fixed by convention rather than by a water experiment. The food calorie on a nutrition label is a kilocalorie of 4,184 joules.

The small calorie appears in chemistry, physics and heat-capacity problems, where a substance's specific heat is expressed per gram per degree. Nutrition labels use the much larger food calorie instead.

Exactly 1,000 thermochemical calories, or 4,184 joules, make one kilocalorie. A food label that prints calorie, often with a capital letter, means this unit rather than the small calorie of physics.

Food energy on packaging, diet plans, restaurant menus and sports nutrition is stated in kilocalories. Physiology and nutrition research also reports energy expenditure in the same unit.