How many ft·lbf equals 1 kWh?

1 kWh = 2,655,223 ft·lbf. Conversely, 1 ft·lbf = 3.77 × 10⁻⁷ kWh — incredibly small.

Why is 1 ft·lbf so tiny compared to 1 kWh?

A kWh is 3.6 million joules (1000 W for 3600 s). A ft·lbf is only 1.356 J. The ratio is about 2.66 million.

A motor does 10,000,000 ft·lbf per hour. How many kWh is that worth?

10,000,000 × 3.77e-7 = 3.77 kWh. But this ignores motor efficiency; an actual motor using 3.77 kWh would output less than 10 MJ.

Is this conversion useful in practice?

Rarely. For mechanical-to-electrical comparisons, use horsepower (1 hp = 0.746 kW) instead. ft·lbf-to-kWh is very indirect.

Foot-Pound Force (ft·lbf) to Kilowatt-Hours (kWh) Converter

Enter a value to instantly convert between energy units.

From

Precision4 dp

1 Foot-Pound Force = 3.7662e-7 Kilowatt-Hour

Key Formulas

Kilocalorie → Kilojoule

kJ = kcal × 4.184

Kilojoule → Kilocalorie

kcal = kJ × 0.239006

Kilowatt-Hour → Joule

J = kWh × 3600000

Joule → Kilowatt-Hour

kWh = J × 2.77778e-7

Formula

kWh = ft·lbf × 3.766161e-7

One foot-pound force equals 3.77 × 10⁻⁷ kilowatt-hours (0.0000003766 kWh). The ft·lbf measures mechanical work; kWh measures electrical energy consumption. Converting ft·lbf to kWh is useful when estimating the electrical energy equivalent of mechanical work — for example, comparing a mechanical pump's output to the electricity needed to power an electric motor doing the same work.

Source: NIST SP 811, Table B.8

Frequently Asked Questions

Real-World Examples

Equivalence: 2,655,223 ft·lbf = 1 kWh. Mechanical work to run a 1 kW motor for one hour.

2655223 ft·lbf = 1 kWh

A hand-crank generator produces 1,000,000 ft·lbf of work — only 0.377 kWh of electricity at 100% efficiency (not practical!).

1000000 ft·lbf = 0.000377 kWh

A small mechanical pump delivers 100,000 ft·lbf of work per hour — equivalent to 0.0377 kWh, or 37.7 Wh.

100000 ft·lbf = 0.0000377 kWh

An industrial turbine produces 5,000,000 ft·lbf of rotor energy — 0.00189 kWh — scaled for hourly electrical generation.

5000000 ft·lbf = 0.00189 kWh

kcal to kj kj to kcal kwh to joules joules to kwh btu to joules calories to joules

Foot-Pound Force (ft·lbf) to Kilowatt-Hours (kWh) Converter

Key Formulas

Formula

Frequently Asked Questions

Real-World Examples

Related Converters