Summary Table of Units of Energy Measurement

Published on 01.20.2015
High School
Physics - chemistry

10 min read

 Below, a summary table of units of measurement used in the energy sector.

Name and abbreviation Definition
 ("bbl" or "b") Unit of measurement for volume, specific to petroleum products.
1 barrel = 158.99 liters
Barrel of oil equivalent (  ) 1 barrel of oil equivalent corresponds to the energy produced when a barrel of oil is burned.
British Thermal Unit (BTU) Imperial unit of measurement for energy.
1 BTU ≈ 1055 joules (J)
Calorie (cal), thermie (th) Former unit of measurement for energy.
1 calorie = 4.184 joules (J)
1 thermie = 1 million calories
Cubic foot (CF) Imperial unit of measurement for volume.
1 cubic foot = 28.32 liters (l)
Cubic meter (m3) Unit of measurement for volume.
Cubic meter per second (m3/s) Unit of measurement for flow.
Degree Celsius (°C) Unit of measurement for temperature, derived from the International System of Units.
Gallon (gal) Imperial unit of measurement for volume.
1 U.K. gal = 4.546 liters (l); 1 U.S. gallon = 3.785 liters (l)
Horsepower (hp) Unit of measurement for power
1 horsepower = 735.5 watts (W)
Joule (J) Official unit of measurement for energy.
Kilowatt-hour (kWh) Commonly used unit of measurement for energy
 kilowatt-hour = 3.6 × 106 joules (J)
Meter per second (m/s) Unit of measurement for speed.
Stere (st) Unit of measurement for a volume of wood.
1 stere = 1 cubic meter of stacked logs, including the empty spaces between them
Ton (t) Unit of measurement for weight.
1 ton of   equivalent equals the energy produced when a ton of coal is burned.
1 ton of coal equivalent = 0.66   (toe), on average
Ton of oil equivalent (toe) 1 ton of oil equivalent equals the energy produced when a ton of oil is burned.
Watt (W) Official unit of measurement for power.

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