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To convert energy from kilowatt-hours (kWh) to gigajoules (GJ), multiply by 0.0036.
The factor is exact and comes straight from the definitions: one watt is one joule per second, so a kilowatt sustained for an hour delivers 1,000 J/s × 3,600 s = 3,600,000 J = 3.6 MJ. Expressed in gigajoules (10⁹ J), that is 0.0036 GJ per kWh.
The reverse anchor is the one most people end up memorizing:
A factory's monthly electricity consumption is 48,500 kWh, and a corporate energy report requires gigajoules:
Reverse direction: a district-heating bill of 25 GJ equals 25 × 277.78 ≈ 6,944 kWh.
| kWh | GJ |
|---|---|
| 100 | 0.36 |
| 277.78 | 1 |
| 1,000 | 3.6 |
| 5,000 | 18 |
| 10,000 | 36 |
| 100,000 | 360 |
| 277,778 | 1,000 |
The kWh and the GJ are the billing units of two different industries that constantly need to talk to each other. Electricity is metered and sold in kWh everywhere. Natural gas and district heating are billed in GJ in Canada and Australia, and energy statistics, carbon-accounting protocols and engineering feasibility studies almost always tabulate totals in GJ or TJ because joules are the SI unit.
The conversion therefore appears whenever fuels are compared on equal footing: deciding between a gas boiler (GJ) and a heat pump (kWh), computing the site-wide energy intensity of a building, or filling in a greenhouse-gas inventory where every energy stream must be converted to a common unit before applying emission factors. A practical benchmark helps keep results plausible: a typical Canadian home burns 80–120 GJ of natural gas a year — the equivalent of 22,000–33,000 kWh — while its electricity use is usually well under half of that.
How many kilowatt-hours are in one gigajoule? One Gigajoule (GJ) contains 277.77777777777777778 Kilowatt-hours (kWh) — the inverse of the factor above. Multiplying by 0.0036 takes you from kilowatt-hours to gigajoules; multiplying by 277.77777777777777778 brings you back.
Put in words: one kilowatt-hour equals 0.0036 gigajoules, so the kilowatt-hour is the smaller unit of this pair. Converting between them never changes the amount of energy being measured — only the size of the unit you count it in.
A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is a measurement of energy. It's the standard unit your utility company uses to measure how much electricity you use.
While it has a technical definition (one kWh equals 3.6 million Joules), it's much easier to understand in terms of how you use appliances at home.
Your utility company uses the kilowatt-hour (kWh) to bill you for the total amount of electrical energy your home or business consumes over a period.
Every appliance, from your refrigerator to your television, has a power rating in watts.
When you use a 1,000-watt (or 1-kilowatt) appliance for one full hour, you consume exactly one kilowatt-hour of energy. This usage is tracked by your electric meter and shows up on your monthly bill.
A common point of confusion is the distinction between a kilowatt (kW) and a kilowatt-hour (kWh).
Here's a simple analogy to make it clear: Kilowatts (kW) are like your car's speed, and kilowatt-hours (kWh) are like the distance you travel.
Power (kW) measures how fast you're using energy right now (your speed).
Energy (kWh) measures the total amount of electricity you used over your entire journey (the distance you traveled).
To put it in perspective, one kilowatt-hour (kWh) is a significant amount of energy that can power various common household activities.
For example, a single kWh can let you:
This unit provides a tangible way to understand and track your daily energy consumption.
Ever looked at your energy bill and wondered what a Gigajoule (GJ) is?
It's a standard unit used to measure energy, just like a kilowatt-hour is for electricity or a gallon is for gasoline.
Specifically, a Gigajoule (GJ) is a metric unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI).
One gigajoule is equal to one billion Joules (109 J).
A single gigajoule contains a significant amount of energy. To put it into perspective, one GJ is roughly equivalent to:
This makes it an efficient unit for measuring large-scale energy consumption, such as heating your home or powering industrial processes.
You'll most commonly encounter the gigajoule in a few key areas:
Understanding how the gigajoule compares to other units helps compare the costs and efficiencies of different energy sources.
Here are some key gigajoule conversions:
Here are some quick reference conversions from Kilowatt-hour (kWh) to Gigajoule (GJ):
| Kilowatt-hours | Gigajoules |
|---|---|
| 0.000001 kWh | 3.6× 10-9 GJ |
| 0.001 kWh | 0.0000036 GJ |
| 0.1 kWh | 0.00036 GJ |
| 1 kWh | 0.0036 GJ |
| 2 kWh | 0.0072 GJ |
| 3 kWh | 0.0108 GJ |
| 4 kWh | 0.0144 GJ |
| 5 kWh | 0.018 GJ |
| 6 kWh | 0.0216 GJ |
| 7 kWh | 0.0252 GJ |
| 8 kWh | 0.0288 GJ |
| 9 kWh | 0.0324 GJ |
| 10 kWh | 0.036 GJ |
| 20 kWh | 0.072 GJ |
| 30 kWh | 0.108 GJ |
| 40 kWh | 0.144 GJ |
| 50 kWh | 0.18 GJ |
| 100 kWh | 0.36 GJ |
| 1000 kWh | 3.6 GJ |
| 10000 kWh | 36 GJ |
Engineering datasheets across Europe write Kilowatt-hour to Gigajoule several different ways. The calculation is the same in every one of them.
| Language | Written as | Unit names |
|---|---|---|
| French | kWh en GJ | kilowattheure → gigajoule |
| Spanish | kWh a GJ | kilovatio-hora → gigajulio |
| Dutch | kWh naar GJ | kilowattuur → gigajoule |
| German | kWh in GJ | Kilowattstunde → Gigajoule |
| Polish | kWh na GJ | kilowatogodzina → gigadżul |
For all Energy converters, choose units using the From/To dropdowns above.