Kilocalorie to Therm Converter

A kilocalorie (kcal), also called a food calorie or large calorie, is a unit of energy equal to 1,000 small calories or approximately 4,184 joules. It represents the energy needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius.

The kilocalorie was developed in the 19th century for measuring heat and energy, particularly in nutrition and metabolism studies. It became the standard unit for food energy content and metabolic energy measurements, though many countries have since adopted kilojoules for food labeling.

Kilocalories are widely used in nutrition and dietetics, particularly in the United States, for measuring food energy content and daily energy requirements. They're found on food labels, diet plans, exercise equipment, and in medical and fitness applications for energy balance calculations.

A therm (thm) is a unit of energy equal to 100,000 BTUs or approximately 105.5 megajoules. It's commonly used for measuring natural gas consumption and energy content in the United States gas industry.

The therm was introduced in the early 20th century by the gas industry in the United States as a convenient unit for measuring and billing natural gas consumption. It provided a practical scale for residential and commercial gas usage where BTUs would result in large numbers.

Therms are primarily used in the United States for natural gas billing, gas appliance ratings, and energy content specifications for natural gas. They're found on residential and commercial gas bills, used in gas utility planning, and for measuring heating energy consumption.