Energy

Measures and Measurement

Energy Unit        Equivalent

  • 10 therms of dry natural gas
  • 11 gallons of propane
  • 2 months of the dietary intake of a laborer

1 quadrillion BTU of energy        45 million short tons of coal

  • 60 million short tons of oven-dried hardwood
  • 1 trillion cubic feet of dry natural gas
  • 170 million barrels of crude oil
  • 470 thousand barrels of crude oil per day for 1 year

1 barrel of crude oil        5.6 thousand cubic feet of dry natural gas

  • 0.26 short tons (520 pounds) of coal
  • 1,700 kilowatt-hours of electricity

1 short ton of coal        3.8 barrels of crude oil

  • 21,000 cubic feet of dry natural gas
  • 6,500 kilowatt-hours of electricity

1,000 cubic feet of natural gas        0.18 barrels (7.4 gallons) of crude oil

  • 0.05 short tons (93 pounds) of coal
  • 300 kilowatt-hours of electricity

1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity 0.59 barrels of crude oil

  • 0.15 short tons (310 pounds) of coal
  • 3,300 cubic feet of dry natural gas

Notes: One quadrillion equals 1,000,000,000,000,000. One therm equals 100,000 BTUs.