About

In district heating networks and industrial plant management, the Gigacalorie (Gcal) remains a pivotal unit for billing and thermal capacity planning. However, modern equipment often outputs data in Kilowatt-hours (kWh), Joules (J), or British Thermal Units (BTU). Converting between these requires precise factors, as "close enough" estimations can lead to significant billing discrepancies in large-scale energy grids.

This tool addresses the nuance of thermal physics. It distinguishes between the International Table calorie (defined by electrical units) and the Thermochemical calorie (defined by water heat capacity), ensuring scientific rigor. The interface accepts various decimal formats to support international engineers and provides instant conversion essential for feasibility studies and operational reporting.

Formulas

Energy conversion relies on the definition of the calorie. For the International Table (IT) standard used here:

1 cal_IT ≡ 4.1868 J

Therefore, to find Energy in Gcal (E_Gcal):

E_Gcal = E_Joules4.1868 × 10⁹

Reference Data

Unit	Symbol	Factor to Gcal (IT)	Primary Use
Gigacalorie	Gcal	1	Heating Grids
Megajoule	MJ	0.000238846	General Science
Kilowatt-hour	kWh	0.000859845	Electricity
Therm (US)	thm	0.0252	Natural Gas
BTU (IT)	BTU	2.52e-7	HVAC (US)
Ton of TNT	tTNT	1.0	Explosives Energy

Frequently Asked Questions

1 Gigacalorie (IT) is exactly 1,162.22222 Kilowatt-hours. This is a crucial conversion factor for combining electrical and thermal billing systems.

By default, it uses the International Table (IT) calorie (1 cal = 4.1868 J), which is the standard for most engineering applications. The Thermochemical calorie is slightly different (approx 4.184 J).

Yes. The input fields handle high-magnitude numbers typical in power plant generation, accepting scientific notation (e.g., 1.5e6).