Convert British Thermal Units to Gigajoules
Convert British Thermal Units (BTU) to Gigajoules (GJ) instantly and accurately.
Conversion Formula
GJ = BTU × 1.055055853e-6
About British Thermal Units
A British Thermal Unit (BTU) - the heat to raise 1 lb of water by 1°F - equals exactly 1,055.05585262 J. It dominates US HVAC: room air conditioners are rated in BTU/h (5,000-24,000 BTU/h = 1.5-7.0 kW); one ton of refrigeration is exactly 12,000 BTU/h. Natural gas is billed in therms (100,000 BTU) in the US. Higher heating values: natural gas ~1,020-1,050 BTU/ft³; No. 2 fuel oil ~138,700 BTU/US gal; propane ~91,500 BTU/US gal. 1 BTU = 1,055.06 J = 252.164 cal = 0.29307 Wh.
About Gigajoules
A gigajoule (GJ) is 10⁹ J - the scale of fossil-fuel commodity volumes. One barrel of crude oil contains ~5.80 GJ; one metric tonne of hard coal ~29.3 GJ. Canadian energy bills express household consumption in GJ: average Canadian households use ~100-130 GJ/year. A 1 GW power plant at 33% efficiency burns ~10.9 GJ/h of fuel to generate 1 GWh = 3.6 GJ of electricity. Detonation of 1 tonne of TNT releases 4.184 GJ. 1 GJ = 10⁹ J = 277.78 kWh = 947,817 BTU = 9.4782 therms.
Quick Reference Table
| British Thermal Units (BTU) | Gigajoules (GJ) |
|---|---|
| 1 BTU | 1.055 × 10-6 GJ |
| 2 BTU | 2.11 × 10-6 GJ |
| 5 BTU | 5.275 × 10-6 GJ |
| 10 BTU | 1.055 × 10-5 GJ |
| 25 BTU | 2.638 × 10-5 GJ |
| 50 BTU | 5.275 × 10-5 GJ |
| 100 BTU | 0.000105506 GJ |