Fuel energy converter
Pick a fuel, then convert a volume of it to the energy it holds, or an amount of energy to liters or gallons.
That's 1.12× as much energy as a home’s daily electricity, while a 75 kWh EV battery is 2.2× more. In an electric car that would cover about 187.2 km (116.3 mi).
What it means
How much energy is that?
Lower heating values from the US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center. Blends vary by a few percent; an engine turns only 20–40 % of it into motion.
Every unit
That fuel in every unit
Learn
Three things worth knowing
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A liter is about 9 kWh
Petrol 8.9 kWh/L, diesel 9.9, ethanol 5.9, propane 6.5.
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The MPGe
In 2010 the EPA defined miles per gallon equivalent with 33.7 kWh = 1 gallon, so EVs could be compared with petrol cars.
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Heat is not work
A gallon’s 33.7 kWh is heat; an engine delivers perhaps 8–10 kWh of it to the wheels.
Shortcuts
Popular energy conversions
Background
About energy in fuels
A US gallon of petrol holds about 33.7 kWh of heat (the EPA figure behind MPGe), a liter about 8.9 kWh. Diesel holds about 12 % more per gallon, ethanol about a third less.
That is why electric cars look so efficient: a car engine turns roughly a quarter of that energy into motion, an electric motor about 90 % of its battery’s.