Understanding the Difference: Food Calories vs. Scientific Calories
In thermodynamics, a small calorie (cal) is the energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1°C. However, dietary nutrition labels on food packages use large Calories (kcal or Cal with a capital C), which equal 1,000 small calories.
1 kWh = 859,845.2 small calories = 859.845 kcal (Food Calories)
Frequently Asked Questions: kWh to Calories
Is this the same as food calories?
No. Food labels denote energy in kilocalories (kcal), commonly called "Calories" with a capital C. One kilowatt-hour equals approximately 860 dietary kilocalories. It equals roughly 860,000 small scientific gram-calories.
Why would anyone convert kWh to calories?
Converting electrical units into calories is primarily used for cross-disciplinary scientific studies, physics education, metabolic rate comparisons (e.g. comparing the power output of a human cyclist to an appliance), and thermal engineering comparisons.