FAO Wood Energy
Timber Section
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Handy Guide to Wood Energy
>> Biomass-to-Energy Calculator [from www.aboutbioenergy.info]
>> Conversion Factors and Energy Equivalents [from www.worldenergy.org]
Biomass-to-Energy Calculator
Interactive converter of cubic meters of wet wood into tonnes of wood into energy or tonnes of oil equivalent. [from IEA Bioenergy: www.aboutbioenergy.info]
back to topConversion Factors and Energy Equivalents
Information from the World Energy homepage [www.worldenergy.org]
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>> Basic Energy Units
>> WEC Standard Energy Units
>> Volumetric Equivalents
>> Electricity
>> Representative Average Conversion Factors
| Basic Energy Units | ||||
| 1 joule (J) | = | 0.2388 cal | ||
| 1 calorie (cal) | = | 4.1868 J | ||
| (1 British thermal unit [Btu] | = | 1.055 kJ | = | 0.252 kcal) |
| WEC Standard Energy Units | ||||
| 1 tonne of oil equivalent (toe) | = | 42 GJ (net calorific value) | = | 10 034 Mcal |
| 1 tonne of coal equivalent (tce) | = | 29.3 GJ (net calorific value) | = | 7 000 Mcal |
| Note: the tonne of oil equivalent currently employed by the International Energy Agency and the United Nations Statistics Division is defined as 107 kilocalories, net calorific value (equivalent to 41.868 GJ) | ||||
| Volumetric Equivalents | ||||
| 1 barrel | = | 42 US gallons | = | approx. 159 litres |
| 1 cubic metre | = | 35.315 cubic feet | = | 6.2898 barrels |
| Electricity | ||||
| 1 kWh of electricity output | = | 3.6 MJ | = | approx. 860 kcal |
| Representative Average Conversion Factors | ||||
| 1 tonne of crude oil | = | approx. 7.3 barrels | ||
| 1 tonne of natural gas liquids | = | 45 GJ (net calorific value) | ||
| 1 000 standard cubic metres of natural gas | = | 36 GJ (net calorific value) | ||
| 1 tonne of uranium (light-water reactors, open cycle) |
= | 10 000 – 16 000 toe | ||
| 1 tonne of peat | = | 0.2275 toe | ||
| 1 tonne of fuelwood | = | 0.3215 toe | ||
| 1 kWh (primary energy equivalent) | = | 9.36 MJ | = | approx. 2 236 Mcal |
| Note: actual values vary by country and over time | ||||
Because of rounding, some totals may not agree exactly with the sum of their component parts