Convert Kilowatt-Hours to Kilocalories
Kilowatt-hours to kilocalories is the conversion you need when the unit on your electricity bill has to meet the food-energy world. A kilocalorie is the 'Calorie' printed on food labels, and a kilowatt-hour is what you use when 1000 watts run for one hour. One kilowatt-hour is approximately 860.42 kilocalories.
Kilowatt-hours to Kilocalories conversion table
| Kilowatt-hours (kWh) | Kilocalories (kcal) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 860.42065 |
| 2 | 1,720.8413 |
| 3 | 2,581.26195 |
| 5 | 4,302.10325 |
| 10 | 8,604.206501 |
| 20 | 17,208.413002 |
| 50 | 43,021.032505 |
| 100 | 86,042.06501 |
| 500 | 430,210.325048 |
| 1,000 | 860,420.650096 |
The formula
To convert kilowatt-hours to kilocalories, multiply the number of kilowatt-hours by 860.42:
kilocalories = kilowatt-hours × 860.42
A worked example
Say you want to know what one kilowatt-hour is in kilocalories:
1 × 860.42065 = 860.42 kcal
So one kilowatt-hour is about 860 food Calories — a "kilocalorie" here is the same Calorie you see on a food label.
Why it's an approximation
The factor 860.4206500956022 is a rounded value. A kilowatt-hour is exactly 3,600,000 joules, but the kilocalorie is defined from the calorie, and the calorie and the joule don't divide evenly into each other. Dividing the kilowatt-hour's joules by the joules in a kilocalorie leaves a long, non-terminating decimal, so the result stays approximate no matter how many places you keep.
When you'll use it
Putting your electricity usage in food-energy terms for a rough sense of scale, or comparing the energy in an appliance's run against the Calories on a nutrition label — the same "kilocalorie" both times.
Frequently asked questions
How many kilocalories are in a kilowatt-hour?
About 860.42 kilocalories. It's a rounded figure — the exact value runs to many decimal places (860.4206500956022), so 860.42 is the practical number to use.
Is a kilocalorie the same as a food Calorie?
Yes. The 'Calorie' with a capital C on a food label is a kilocalorie — 1000 small calories. So one kilowatt-hour is about 860 food Calories, roughly a third of a day's eating.
Is the kilowatt-hours to kilocalories conversion exact?
No. The kilocalorie is defined from the calorie, which doesn't divide evenly into the kilowatt-hour, so the factor 860.42 is rounded for everyday use. More decimal places give you more precision if you need it.