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Enter calories (Cal or cal) or kilowatt-hours into the calculator to convert to the other value.
Assumptions Assumptions
- Conversions are energy-to-energy only—no efficiency, metabolic rate, or losses are considered.
- Calorie with a capital “C” (Cal) refers to the kilocalorie (kcal) used in food labels; small “cal” is the gram calorie.
- Exact definitions used: 1 Cal (kcal) = 4184 J; 1 cal = 4.184 J; 1 kWh = 3,600,000 J; 1 Wh = 3600 J.
- Rounding shown in examples and tables may slightly affect the last digit.
When to Use This Calculator
- Converting nutritional energy (Calories) to electrical energy (kWh) for comparisons.
- Estimating how many kWh are equivalent to a meal or daily intake.
- Translating appliance energy use (Wh/kWh) into dietary Calories and vice versa.
Input Definitions
- Calories — choose Cal (kcal, food Calorie) or cal (small calorie).
- Kilowatt-hours — choose kWh or Wh (1 kWh = 1000 Wh).
- Conversions — kWh = kcal × 4184 ÷ 3,600,000 = kcal ÷ 860.421; kcal = kWh × 3,600,000 ÷ 4184 = kWh × 860.421.
- All Unit Converters
- Cal to kW Conversion Calculator
- kWh to Cal Conversion Calculator
- kWh Calculator
- kJ to Calories Calculator
- BTU to Calories Conversion Calculator
Cal to kWh Formula
The following formulas convert Calories (kcal) to kilowatt-hours and back, using joules as the base unit.
\mathrm{kWh} = \mathrm{Cal} \times \frac{4184}{3{,}600{,}000}\mathrm{Cal} = \mathrm{kWh} \times \frac{3{,}600{,}000}{4184}- 1 Cal (kilocalorie) = 4184 J
- 1 cal (small calorie) = 4.184 J
- 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh) = 3,600,000 J
- 1 watt-hour (Wh) = 3600 J
How do you convert Calories to kWh? Multiply Calories (kcal) by 4184 to get joules, then divide by 3,600,000 to get kWh (equivalently, divide kcal by 860.421).
How do you convert kWh to Calories? Multiply kWh by 3,600,000 to get joules, then divide by 4184 to get kcal (equivalently, multiply kWh by 860.421).
Cal to kWh Conversion Table
| Calories (kcal) | kWh |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.001162 |
| 5 | 0.005811 |
| 10 | 0.011622 |
| 20 | 0.023244 |
| 50 | 0.058111 |
| 100 | 0.116222 |
| 150 | 0.174333 |
| 200 | 0.232444 |
| 250 | 0.290556 |
| 300 | 0.348667 |
| 400 | 0.464889 |
| 500 | 0.581111 |
| 750 | 0.871667 |
| 1,000 | 1.162222 |
| 1,500 | 1.743333 |
| 2,000 | 2.324444 |
| 2,500 | 2.905556 |
| 3,000 | 3.486667 |
| * 1 kWh ≈ 860.421 kcal; 1 kcal ≈ 0.001162 kWh. | |
Example Problem
Convert 2,500 Cal (kcal) to kWh.
Use the formula: kWh = Cal × 4184 ÷ 3,600,000.
kWh = 2,500 × 4184 ÷ 3,600,000 = 2.905556 kWh
