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Unit Converters · Science & Engineering Units

Energy Converter

Convert energy between joules and their multiples, calories and food kilocalories, watt-hours and kilowatt-hours (the 'units' on an electricity bill), British thermal units, therms, electronvolts, foot-pounds and ergs.

Also listed inEngineeringScience & Weather

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Your result Live

1 Kilowatt-hour =

3.6 Megajoules

1 Kilowatt-hour = 3.6 Megajoules

Joules
3,600,000
Kilojoules
3,600
Calories (cal)
860,420.6501
Kilocalories (kcal, food Calories)
860.4206501
Watt-hours
1,000
British thermal units (BTU)
3,412.141633
Therms (US)
0.03412956341
Electronvolts
2.246943267 × 10²⁵
Foot-pounds force
2,655,223.737
Ergs
36,000,000,000,000

How this is calculated

Result = value × (joules per 'from' unit) ÷ (joules per 'to' unit)

1 kcal
4,184 J (thermochemical calorie); 1 kWh = 3.6 MJ; 1 BTU = 1,055.056 J

All energy units are fixed numbers of joules. A food Calorie on a label is a kilocalorie, 4.184 kJ. One kilowatt-hour — one 'unit' of electricity — is 3.6 million joules, about 860 kcal.

Assumptions & sources

  • Calories are thermochemical (4.184 J); BTU is the International Table BTU.
  1. 1NIST Special Publication 811 — Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (conversion factors) — National Institute of Standards and Technology
  2. 2The International System of Units (SI Brochure, 9th edition) — BIPM

Calculator ID UNIT-ENERGY-001 · version 1.0.0

Common questions

How many kJ in a kcal?

4.184 kJ.

How many kcal is 1 kWh?

3,600,000 ÷ 4,184 ≈ 860 kcal.

What's an electronvolt?

The energy an electron gains across one volt: 1.602 × 10⁻¹⁹ J, used in physics and chemistry.