Convert Calories per Hour to BTU per Second

Convert Calories per Hour (cal/h) to BTU per Second (BTU/s) instantly and accurately.

Calories per Hour (cal/h)
BTU per Second (BTU/s)

Conversion Formula

BTU/s = cal/h × 1.102311311e-6

About Calories per Hour

One calorie per hour (cal/h) equals exactly 0.001163 W - the rate of transferring one thermochemical calorie (4.1868 J) per hour. A resting adult generates ~70-80 W ≈ 60,000-70,000 cal/h of heat. The unit appears in European and Asian HVAC standards for small-appliance heat loads and in laboratory calorimetry reporting metabolic activity of small organisms. Calorimetric enzyme assays also express catalytic heat in cal/h per unit enzyme. 1 cal/h = 0.001163 W.

About BTU per Second

One BTU per second (BTU/s) ≈ 1,055 W - close to 1 kW but slightly larger. Used when heat rates are so high that per-hour or per-minute numbers become unwieldy. In fire protection engineering, large house fires peak at 500-2,000 BTU/s; industrial fires at millions of BTU/s. Blast characterisation for petrochemical safety and large industrial heat exchangers with duties of millions of BTU/h are conveniently expressed in BTU/s. Since 1 BTU/s ≈ 1.055 kW, conversion to SI is straightforward. 1 BTU/s = 1,055.056 W.

Quick Reference Table

Calories per Hour (cal/h)BTU per Second (BTU/s)
1 cal/h1.102 × 10-6 BTU/s
2 cal/h2.205 × 10-6 BTU/s
5 cal/h5.512 × 10-6 BTU/s
10 cal/h1.102 × 10-5 BTU/s
25 cal/h2.756 × 10-5 BTU/s
50 cal/h5.512 × 10-5 BTU/s
100 cal/h0.000110231 BTU/s

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