How to Calculate the KWH of Gas

Gasoline contains 8.76 kWh of energy per liter.

All chemicals that store energy, including gasoline, have unique energy densities, which tell you how much energy is stored in that chemical. For liquid chemicals, energy density is usually expressed in megajoules per liter (MJ/L) or kilowatt hours per liter (kWh/L). Gasoline has an energy density of roughly 8.76 kWh/L, and this number can be used in a simple calculation to determine the number of KWh in any volume of gasoline.

Things You'll Need

• Calculator

Instructions

1. Write the equation for determining the amount of energy--in kWh--in a given volume of gasoline. Using the energy density of gasoline, we get:

   Energy in gasoline = Energy density x Given volume

2. Determine the volume of the gasoline for which you want to calculate the energy content. For example, assume that you want to calculate the energy content in 9.7 liters of gasoline.

3. Plug the given volume and energy density numbers into the equation to calculate the energy content of the gasoline.

   Energy in gasoline = 8.76 kWh/L x 9.7 L = 84.97 kWh

   9.7 liters of gasoline contains 84.97 kWh of energy.

References

• Hypertextbook: Energy Density of Gasoline