Unit | Energy

In the , the British Thermal Unit (BTU) was the king of the furnaces. He was a bit old-fashioned, still measuring heat by how much it could warm up a pound of water, but he was essential for anyone buying natural gas or heating oil.

Once upon a time in the Land of Physics, there lived a hard-working fellow named . Joule was the official measure of all things energetic. Whenever a pushy character named Newton moved an object exactly one meter , Joule was there to record the effort.

stepped forward, but he realized he was quite small—it took 3.6 million of him just to match one Kilowatt-hour ! energy unit

And so, they all went back to their jobs, helping humans measure everything from the whisper of a breeze (0.01 Joules) to the mighty rays of the sun. Energy Units Explained - Reinhardt Home Heating

giggled, knowing she was about 4.18 times as big as a single Joule. In the , the British Thermal Unit (BTU)

But Joule wasn’t the only one in town. Across the river in the , there was Calorie , a warm and friendly unit who spent her days heating up water. She was quite popular with the local chefs and athletes, always measuring the fuel in their food.

One day, the units decided to have a grand meeting to see who was the strongest. Joule was the official measure of all things energetic

High up in the , lived the Kilowatt-hour (kWh) . This giant was responsible for the entire city's electricity. He was a bit of a businessman, always showing up on monthly bills to tell families how much energy their lightbulbs and air conditioners had used.