BTU per kilowatt-hour
Heat rateexact by definition
One BTU of fuel heat for each kilowatt-hour of electricity sent out, the unit North American utilities and regulators quote. With the international-table BTU of 1,055.05585262 J it is 0.000293071 of a joule-per-joule, and a plant that wasted nothing would have a heat rate of 3,412.14 BTU/kWh.
Watch out: The BTU has several definitions (the international-table, thermochemical and 39 °F ones differ by up to 0.2 %). This site uses the international-table BTU. The conversion to kJ/kWh is exact for that BTU.
| 1 | 1.0550559 |
The BTU is the thermal unit of the American power industry and the kilowatt-hour is its electrical one, so the heat rate is quoted in the mixed unit that falls out of the two. A heat rate near 7,000 to 7,600 BTU/kWh is a modern gas combined-cycle plant, and coal and nuclear plants run near 10,000 to 10,500.
One btu per kilowatt-hour in every heat rate unit
| 1.05506 | kilojoule per kilowatt-hour (kJ/kWh) | |
| 1.05506 | megajoule per megawatt-hour (MJ/MWh) | |
| 1 | BTU per kilowatt-hour (BTU/kWh)this unit | |
| 0.001 | million BTU per megawatt-hour (MMBTU/MWh) | |
| 0.000293071 | joule of heat per joule of electricity (J/J) |
Cite this page
formula.expert. (2026, October 30). BTU per kilowatt-hour (BTU/kWh): definition & conversion. https://formula.expert/units/btu-per-kilowatt-hour