Specific Heat Converter

Convert specific heat capacity with the factor behind each answer. It is the energy needed to raise one kilogram of a material by one kelvin.

Value

From

Result0.9998089233 BTU/(lb·°F)

1 kJ/(kg·K) = 0.2388458966 BTU/(lb·°F)

Common conversions

Energy to heat a mass is Q = m × c × ΔT. With c in J/(kg·K), m in kg and ΔT in K, Q is in joules. Divide by 3,600,000 for kWh.

Water is about 4,186 J/(kg·K). Transformer oil is roughly half of that, so it takes about half the energy to warm the same mass by one kelvin.

Every unit in terms of the base unit shown. To convert, multiply by the factor of the unit you have and divide by the factor of the unit you want.

Unit	Equals	What it is
J/(kg·K)	1 J/(kg·K)	Joule per kilogram kelvin, the SI unit of specific heat capacity.
kJ/(kg·K)	1,000 J/(kg·K)	Kilojoule per kilogram kelvin. Water is about 4.18.
J/(g·K)	1,000 J/(kg·K)	Joule per gram kelvin, equal to kJ/(kg·K).
cal/(g·°C)	4,186.8 J/(kg·K)	Calorie per gram degree Celsius (International Table calorie, 4.1868 J). Water is about 1.
kcal/(kg·°C)	4,186.8 J/(kg·K)	Kilocalorie per kilogram degree Celsius, numerically equal to cal/(g·°C).
BTU/(lb·°F)	4,186.8 J/(kg·K)	BTU per pound degree Fahrenheit. US heating and cooling data; water is about 1.

BTU/(lb·°F) = kJ/(kg·K) × 0.2388458966. For example, 4.186 kJ/(kg·K) is 0.9998089233 BTU/(lb·°F).

kJ/(kg·K) = BTU/(lb·°F) × 4.1868. The Swap button above reverses the direction for any pair of units.