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Resistance is futile – Conversion Factors

jlsymhomeWhile no one can say those in the “Green” / Energy Efficiency fields march in lock step like the Borg, I couldn’t resist using that line from Star Trek. The reason, well it appears that a big part of the collective is moving towards using kBtu/SF for measuring usage. For more on this aspect & an interesting look at the numbers I invite you to check out Joshua Lloyd’s post on this subject; Sym-Home Energy Targets (and maybe to see what that picture is about.)

For those wondering what kBtu/SF is, it simply measuring home many BTU’s are used per square foot of space. In this case the k stands for 1000, so how many thousands of BTU’s are used per square foot. Ahh, but how does one get that number? Well in keeping with a promise back from my CEA training, here is a conversion chart to convert the most standard (and not so standard) items into kBtu.

Source Measurement Multiply / Conversion Factor
All kBtu                          1
MBtu                    1,000
MMBtu                  10,000
Quad                  10,000
Electricity – Site kWh                     3.41
MWh                    3,412
GWh             3,412,141
Electricity – Primary / Source kWh                     9.77
MWh                    9,774
Natural Gas cf                     1.03
ccf                    102.9
kcf                    1,029
Mcf             1,029,000
Therms                      100
cubic meters                    36.34
Propane cf                     2.52
kcf                 2,518.5
Gallons                    91.65
liters                    23.83
Kerosene Gallons                      135
liters                     35.1
Wood * Tons                  15,380
Cord                  30,760
Face Cord                  10,243
Fuel Oil (No. 1, 2, 4), Diesel Gallons                    138.7
liters                    36.06
Barrel                 5,825.2
Short Ton                  38,570
Fuel Oil (No. 5, 6) aka residual Gallons                  149.69
liters                    38.92
Coal (anthracite) * Tons                  25,090
Lbs                    12.55
kLbs                  12,545
MLbs            12,545,000
Coal (bituminous) * Tons                  24,930
Lbs                    12.47
kLbs                  12,465
MLbs            12,465,000
Gasoline (Pure) Gallons                      125
Gasoline (10% Ethanol) Gallons                    120.9
E85 Gallons                     90.5
Ethanol Gallons                     84.4
Methanol Gallons                     62.8
District Steam * Lbs                     1.19
kLbs                    1,194
MLbs             1,194,000
therms                      100
District Hot Water * therms                      100
District Chilled Water * Ton Hours                        12

* These numbers can vary so when in doubt we defaulted with ENERGY STAR’s numbers used for Portfolio Manager. For example the wood figure can vary based on type of wood, wetness, etc… For more on the numbers for wood; Wood Values.

For example – a 2432 SF house that used 364 Gallons of Propane last year & 10505 kWh’s of Electricity would = 28.46 kBtu/SF — (10505 kWh times 3.14 = 35,843.06) + (364 Gal times 91.65 = 33,359.73) = 69,202.79 — divide 69,202.79 by 2432 Square Feet you get 28.46.

A few more interesting conversions;

  • 1 short ton (ton) = 2,000 pounds = 6.65 barrels (crude oil)
  • 1 metric ton (tonn) = 2,200 pounds
  • 1 barrel (bbl) = 42 gallons = 5.615 cubic feet = 159.0 liters
  • 1 standard cord of wood = 8 feet x 4 feet x 4 feet = 128 cubic feet
  • 1 face cord of wood = 8 feet x 4 feet x 16 inches = 42.7 cubic feet

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Filed Under: FAQ's, Acronym’s, & Terminology May 14, 2013 By SLS

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