Most of all, during the frosty winter months, all people look forward to the New Year, and least of all, heating bills. Residents especially don't like them apartment buildings, who themselves do not have the ability to control the amount of incoming heat, and often the bills for it turn out to be simply fantastic. In most cases, in such documents the unit of measurement is Gcal, which stands for “gigacalorie”. Let's find out what it is, how to calculate gigacalories and convert to other units.
What is a calorie?
Supporters healthy eating or those who closely monitor their weight are familiar with the concept of a calorie. This word means the amount of energy obtained as a result of the body processing the food eaten, which must be used, otherwise the person will begin to gain weight.
Paradoxically, the same value is used to measure the amount of thermal energy used to heat rooms.
As an abbreviation, this value is designated as “cal”, or in English cal.
In the metric system of measurements, the equivalent of a calorie is the joule. So, 1 cal = 4.2 J.
The importance of calories for human life
In addition to developing various weight loss diets, this unit is used to measure energy, work and heat. In this regard, such concepts as “calorie content” are common - that is, the heat of combustible fuel.
In most developed countries, when calculating heating, people no longer pay for the number of cubic meters of gas consumed (if it is gas), but precisely for its calorie content. In other words, the consumer pays for the quality of the fuel used: the higher it is, the less gas will have to be consumed for heating. This practice reduces the possibility of diluting the substance used with other, cheaper and lower calorie compounds.
What is a gigacalorie and how many calories are in it?
As is clear from the definition, the size of 1 calorie is small. For this reason, it is not used to calculate large quantities, especially in the energy sector. Instead, the concept of gigacalorie is used. This is a value equal to 10 9 calories, and it is written as the abbreviation “Gcal”. It turns out that there are one billion calories in one gigacalorie.
In addition to this value, a slightly smaller one is sometimes used - Kcal (kilocalorie). It holds 1000 cal. Thus, we can consider that one gigacalorie is a million kilocalories.
It's worth keeping in mind that sometimes a kilocalorie is written simply as "feces." Because of this, confusion arises, and some sources indicate that there are 1,000,000 cal in 1 Gcal, although in reality we're talking about about 1,000,000 Kcal.
Hecacalorie and gigacalorie
In energy, in most cases the Gcal is used as a unit of measurement, but it is often confused with such a concept as “hecacalorie” (also known as hectocalorie).
In this regard, the abbreviation “Gcal” is interpreted by some people as “hecacalorie” or “hectocalorie”. However, this is wrong. In fact, the above-mentioned units of measurement do not exist, and their use in speech is the result of illiteracy, and nothing more.
Gigacalorie and gigacalorie/hour: what is the difference
In addition to the fictitious value in question, receipts sometimes contain an abbreviation such as “Gcal/hour.” What does it mean and how does it differ from the usual gigacalorie?
This unit of measurement shows how much energy was used in one hour.
While just a gigacalorie is a measurement of heat consumed over an indefinite period of time. It depends only on the consumer what time frame will be indicated in this category.
The abbreviation Gcal/m3 is much less common. It means how many gigacalories need to be used to heat one cubic meter substances.
Gigacalorie formula
Having considered the definition of the value being studied, it is worth finally finding out how to calculate how many gigacalories are used to heat a room during the heating season.
For especially lazy people on the Internet, there are a lot of online resources where specially programmed calculators are presented. All you have to do is enter your numerical data - and they themselves will calculate the number of gigacalories consumed.
However, it would be nice to be able to do this yourself. There are several formula options for this. The simplest and most understandable among them is the following:
Thermal energy (Gcal/hour) = (M 1 x (T 1 -T xv)) - (M 2 x (T 2 -T xv)) /1000, where:
- M 1 is the mass of the heat transfer substance that is supplied through the pipeline. Measured in tons.
- M 2 is the mass of the heat transfer substance returning through the pipeline.
- T 1 - coolant temperature in the supply pipeline, measured in Celsius.
- T 2 - temperature of the coolant returning back.
- Тхв - temperature of the cold source (water). Usually equal to five because that's what it is minimum temperature water in the pipeline.
Why do housing and communal services overestimate the amount of energy spent when paying for heating?
Conducting own calculations, it is worth noting that housing and communal services slightly overestimate the standards for thermal energy consumption. The idea that they are trying to earn extra money from this is wrong. After all, the cost of 1 Gcal already includes maintenance, salaries, taxes, and additional profit. This “surcharge” is due to the fact that when hot liquid is transported through a pipeline in the cold season, it tends to cool down, that is, inevitable heat loss occurs.
In numbers it looks like this. According to regulations, the temperature of water in heating pipes must be at least +55 °C. And if we take into account that the minimum temperature of water in power systems is +5 °C, then it must be heated by 50 degrees. It turns out that 0.05 Gcal is used for each cubic meter. However, in order to compensate for heat loss, this coefficient is inflated to 0.059 Gcal.
Convert Gcal to kW/hour
Thermal energy can be measured in various units, but in official documentation from housing and communal services it is calculated in Gcal. Therefore, it is worth knowing how to convert other units to gigacalories.
The easiest way to do this is when the relationships between these quantities are known. For example, it is worth considering watts (W), in which the energy output of most boilers or heaters is measured.
Before considering the conversion to this Gcal value, it is worth remembering that, like a calorie, a watt is small. Therefore, kW (1 kilowatt equals 1000 watts) or mW (1 megawatt equals 1000,000 watts) are more often used.
In addition, it is important to remember that power is measured in W (kW, mW), but to calculate the amount of electricity consumed/produced, it is used. In this regard, it is not the conversion of gigacalories to kilowatts that is considered, but the conversion of Gcal to kW/h.
How to do this? In order not to suffer with formulas, it is worth remembering the “magic” number 1163. This is exactly how many kilowatts of energy must be spent in an hour to get one gigacalorie. In practice, when converting from one unit of measurement to another, you simply need to multiply the number of Gcal by 1163.
For example, let's convert into kW/hour 0.05 Gcal required to heat one cubic meter of water by 50 °C. It turns out: 0.05 x 1163 = 58.15 kW/hour. These calculations will especially help those who are thinking about changing gas heating to more environmentally friendly and economical electric power.
If we are talking about huge volumes, we can convert it not into kilowatts, but into megawatts. In this case, you need to multiply not by 1163, but by 1.163, since 1 mW = 1000 kW. Or simply divide the result obtained in kilowatts by a thousand.
Conversion to Gcal
Sometimes it is necessary to carry out the reverse process, that is, to calculate how many Gcal are contained in one kW/hour.
When converting to gigacalories, the number of kilowatt-hours must be multiplied by another “magic” number - 0.00086.
The correctness of this can be verified by taking the data from the previous example.
So, it was calculated that 0.05 Gcal = 58.15 kW/hour. Now it’s worth taking this result and multiplying it by 0.00086: 58.15 x 0.00086 = 0.050009. Despite the slight difference, it almost completely coincides with the original data.
As in previous calculations, it is necessary to take into account the fact that when working with particularly large volumes of substances, it will be necessary to convert not kilowatts, but megawatts into gigacalories.
How is this done? IN in this case Again, you need to take into account that 1 mW = 1000 kW. Based on this, the decimal point in the “magic” number is moved by three zeros, and voila, it turns out to be 0.86. It is by this that you need to multiply to make the translation.
By the way, a small discrepancy in the answers is due to the fact that the coefficient 0.86 is a rounded version of the number 0.859845. Of course, for more accurate calculations it is worth using it. However, if we are talking only about the amount of energy used to heat an apartment or house, it is better to simplify.
In the section on the question How many liters are in 1 Gcal? given by the author Max Yellow the best answer is I looked at your comments and realized what you need.
Hot water must be no lower than +50 and no higher than +70 degrees (according to sanitary standards and SNiP rules 2.08-01-89 “Residential buildings”).
We take the average heat to 45 degrees to get hot from cold. That is, for a liter you need to spend 45 kilocalories,
That is
1 liter = 0.000045 Gcal.
1 Gcal = 22,000 liters.
And you need the cost of 1 liter of hot water for a course student.
Then it’s easier to look at the bureaucrats; they have everything spelled out.
For example, for the population of Moscow, 1 cubic meter of hot water costs 105 rubles, or 10 kopecks per liter. From July 1, the price will rise to 111.5 rubles.
(And for a gigacalorie in Moscow, 1,440.50 rubles have been charged since January 1.)
If we equate the cost, we get 1 Gcal = 13,700 liters of hot water.
So he brought Moscow officials to clean water.
According to theory, a gigacalorie can heat 22 tons, but in Moscow we only get 14 tons. The rest goes to maintenance.
Source:
Answer from Wolf rabinovich[guru]
Well, if Gcal is hecalitres, then 100 l
Answer from tractor manufacturing[guru]
depends on the temperature of that same water...
see specific heat capacity, you may have to convert joules to calories. .
that is, 1 gcal can be heated to any number of liters, the only question is to what temperature...
Thermal energy has several measurement options.
Energy power, which is measured in Watts (W, mW and kW), is most often indicated by heating boilers, heaters, etc.
Another unit of energy measurement, the gigocalorie (Gcal), may be encountered when installing heat meters.
Also, the supplied heat is sometimes indicated in Gcal on payment receipts.
And if the calculation is accepted management company in one unit, and the meter shows another, you may need to monthly convert Gcal to kW and vice versa. Once you understand everything once, you can learn how to do it quickly and easily.
During the construction of buildings, all measurements and thermal calculations are made in gigacalories. Utilities also prefer this unit of measurement due to its proximity to real life and industrial-scale computing capabilities.
From school course remember that a calorie is the work needed to heat 1 gram of water per unit °C (at a certain atmospheric pressure).
In life you have to deal with Kcal and Gcal, gigacalories.
- 1 Kcal = 1 thousand cal.
- 1 Gcal = 1 million Kcal, or 1 Billion. cal.
The following measurement can be used in heating receipts:
- Gcal;
- Gcal/hour.
In the first case, we mean the supplied heat for a certain period (this could be a month, a year or a day). Gcal/hour is a characteristic of the power of a device or process (such a unit of measurement can report productivity heating device or about the rate of heat loss from a building in winter). The receipts imply heat that was released in 1 hour. Then, to recalculate for a day, you need to multiply the number by 24, and for a month by another 30/31.
1 Gcal/hour = 40 m 3 of water, which was heated to 25 °C in 1 hour.
Also, a gigacalorie can be tied to the volume of fuel (solid or liquid) Gcal/m3. And it shows how much heat can be obtained from a cubic meter of this fuel.
How to convert energy units?
On the Internet you can actually find a huge number of online calculators that convert the required values automatically.
When it comes to figuring it all out, there are often lengthy formulas and proportions that can be off-putting. ordinary consumer, who graduated from school many years ago.
But it’s possible to figure everything out! You will need to remember 1 or 2 numbers, an action, and you can easily make the translation offline, on your own.
How to convert kW to Gcal/h
Key indicator for converting data from kilowatts to calories:
1 kW = 0.00086 Gcal/hour
To find out how many Gcal is obtained, you need to multiply the available number of kW by a constant value, 0.00086.
Let's look at an example. Suppose you need to convert 250 kW into calories.
250 kW x 0.00086 = 0.215 Gcal/hour.
(More accurate online calculators will show 0.214961).
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Convert Gcal to kW/h
The opposite situation is when you need to convert Gcal to kW. You need to know how many kW contains 1 Gcal
1 Gcal = 1163 kW.
This means that one gigacalorie of heat will need to be consumed to produce 1163 kilowatts of energy.
Or vice versa: 1163 kW of energy will be required to produce one Gcal of heat.
To convert the number of gigocalories you know into kilowatts, you need to multiply the existing Gcal indicator by 1163.
0.5 x 1163 = 581.5 kW.
Conversion table
A quick translation of round numbers can be done using tables:
Conclusion
So, to make it easier to carry out monthly transfers of heat units, you need to remember a couple of numbers and the action that needs to be performed with them.If there is a reading in kilowatts, it must be multiplied by 0.00086 and it will be obtained in gigacalories.
And when the readings are taken in gigacalories, you need to multiply them by 1163 and you get kilowatts.
There are several ways to calculate gigacalories, which mean the amount of heat energy required to heat residential premises and maintain optimal conditions in them. temperature regime. Simple calculations This indicator will help not only determine the consumption rate, but also reduce consumption, and therefore save a decent amount during heating season.
Basic concepts about the indicator
Gigacalorie is what is measured in thermal energy heating, and by conditional calculations it corresponds to one billion calories, which are used to determine the energy costs required to heat one gram of water per degree. That is, in order to heat as many as 1000 tons of water by one degree Celsius, you have to spend 1 Gcal (it is this abbreviation that stands for “gigacalorie” that is used in all legislative acts and regulations in force since 1995).
Purpose of the unit of account
The calculation of gigacalories is used for several purposes at once, which differ significantly from each other depending on the living space, which can be roughly classified into two types: apartment in multi-storey building And private cottage with one or more levels, including basement and attic. Usually we are talking about the following tasks:
Today the most expensive source of heat in the home is Electric Energy. The second and third positions in this unspoken ranking are shared between diesel fuel and natural gas. At the same time, the listed resources use the most in great demand and popularity, so installing meters will help not only count gigacalories, but also reduce consumption by choosing its optimal rate using special regulators and other auxiliary equipment.
heating load calculation
Installation of counters
Adjustment of the amount of energy consumed, allowing you to choose optimal scheme“comfort-savings” ratio is ensured through the installation of special regulators, which is carried out in two standard schemes. We are talking about the following types of insertion into the system:
- Installation of a thermostat on the common return output line, relevant for series ring connection of heating radiators. With this type of installation, the regulation of heat consumption and consumption will directly depend on the temperature in the living room, increasing as it cools and decreasing as it warms up.
- Installation of chokes on the approach to each radiator. Ideal scheme for old housing stock, which is characterized by separate risers in each room. In addition, throttling helps regulate the temperature and, as a result, heat energy consumption in each room, and not in the entire apartment as a whole, which will avoid the formation of zones with different levels humidity and degree of heating.
Today in apartments multi-storey buildings and private cottages, two types of meters are installed, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages. This list includes the following devices:
Regardless of the type of design of the selected meter, calculating the number of gigacalories consumed involves the use of such defining parameters as the temperature of the main water at the inlet and outlet of the radiator, as well as its flow rate, recorded after passing through the block with installed equipment for measuring.
Rules and methods of calculation
When starting to perform calculations, inexperienced owners often wonder how to convert 1 Gcal of heating (that’s how many kilowatt-hours). In fact, we are talking about a constant value, which corresponds to 1162.2 kW/h. And despite the fact that it is not so easy to calculate energy costs without special sensors, meters and other types of auxiliary equipment, there are several formulas that can be used to help cope with the task.
Calculation of gigacalories without a counter
If it is not possible to install heating meters and regulators on the common return line or radiator, Gcal per hour can be calculated using a very simple and understandable formula V (T1-T2)/1000=Q, where:
As for the thousandth coefficient, it is a constant that is used to convert the calculated calories of heat into the required gigacalories. The above formula is relevant for systems equipped with circuits open type. If the project provides for a design with closed circuit, different high level ergonomics, it is recommended to resort to more complex calculations.
Alternative Costing Methods
There are at least two more universal formulas with which you can independently calculate fuel consumption in gigacalories during the heating season. These calculations, like the previous ones, assume the use of the same indicators. Thus, the consumed heat energy can be calculated using the following identities:
- 1. ((V1 (T1-T2)+(V1-V2)(T2-T1))/1000=Q;
- 2. ((V2 (T1-T2)+(V1-V2)(T1-T))/1000=Q.
At the same time, it is strongly recommended to coordinate all issues with qualified specialists, giving priority to those professionals who are directly related to the laying of thermal routes of the residential premises in question. If necessary, the calculated gigacalories are converted into kilowatt-hours, for which the above-mentioned conversion factor is used.
If the project involves laying a heated floor, then the owners must be prepared for the fact that all further calculations of energy consumption standards will be significantly complicated, so it is better to immediately attend to the installation issue measuring instruments. If it is necessary to convert kilocalories to kilowatts, it is recommended to multiply the original value by a factor of 0.85.
How to check the correctness of calculations in a receipt for payment of housing and communal services
The use of even the highest quality and reliable measuring instruments will not protect against potential errors in the calculations performed. To obtain the most accurate values, it is necessary to take into account these differences, the value of which can be calculated using the formula (V1-V2)/(V1+V2)100=E, where:
- 100 is a constant coefficient necessary to convert the finished result into a percentage;
- E is the data error of the meter used in percentages.
In the vast majority of meters, this value corresponds to one percent, while the maximum permissible value should not exceed two percent. And if all calculations are carried out correctly, taking into account potential differences and heat losses that can occur not only through the facade of the building, but also through its roof and floor, then there is a high probability that the owners will be able to save a large number of heat energy and personal funds without the slightest damage to the level of personal comfort during the heating season.
At the same time, the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) classifies the calorie as a unit of measurement “which should be withdrawn from use as soon as possible where it is currently used and which should not be introduced if it is not in use.” The first to use the term “calorie” was the Swedish physicist Johann Wilcke (1732-1796).
Definitions
The general approach to calorie definition is related to the specific heat capacity of water and is that a calorie is defined as the amount of heat required to heat 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius at standard atmospheric pressure 101 325 Pa. However, since the heat capacity of water depends on temperature, the size of the calorie determined in this way depends on the heating conditions. Due to the above and for historical reasons, three arose and exist definitions of three various types calories
- Calorie (international calorie) (Russian designation: cal; international: cal), 1 cal = 4.1868 J exactly.
- Thermochemical calorie (Russian designation: cal TH; international: cal th), 1 cal TH ≈ 4.1840 J.
- 15-degree calorie (Russian designation: cal 15; international: cal 15), 1 cal 15 ≈ 4.1855 J.
Previously, the calorie was widely used to measure energy, work, and heat; “caloric value” was the heat of combustion of fuel. Currently, despite the transition to the SI system, in thermal power engineering, heating systems, and public utilities, a multiple unit of measurement of the amount of thermal energy is often used - gigacalorie(Gcal) (10 9 calories). To measure thermal power, the derived unit Gcal/ (gigacalorie per hour) is used, which characterizes the amount of heat produced or used by this or that equipment per unit of time.
In addition, the calorie is used in estimating the energy value (“caloric content”) of foods. Usually the energy value is indicated in kilocalories(kcal).
To measure the amount of energy are also used megacalorie(1 Mcal = 10 6 cal) and tercalorie(1 Tcal = 10 12 cal).
Communication with other units
The standard international calorie used below is: 1 cal = 4.1868 J exactly.
- 1 J ≈ 0.2388458966 cal.
- 1 kWh ≈ 0.859845 Mcal.
- 1 Gcal = 1163 kWh exactly.
- 1 cal ≈ 2.6131950408·10 19 eV.
- 1 eV ≈ 3.8267331155·10 −20 cal.
- 1 British thermal unit (BTU) ≈ 252 cal.
- 1 kcal ≈ 3.968 BTU.
- 1 barrel of oil equivalent (BOE) ≈ 1.46 Gcal.
- 1 Gcal ≈ 0.684 BOE.
- 1 kiloton of TNT equivalent = 1 Tcal TX ≈ 1 Tcal.
Related units
Frigoria
A unit of cold measurement accepted in refrigeration technology, numerically equal to one kilocalorie, taken with the opposite sign. One frigoria is equal to minus one kilocalorie.
Thermia
A unit of heat, numerically equal to 10 6 calories.
British thermal unit
BTU (British Thermal Unit) is a unit used to measure heat energy in English-speaking countries. Its definition is methodologically close to that of a calorie, but relies on imperial units: 1 BTU is equal to the energy required to heat 1 pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit.
Kiloton TNT
To measure the energy release of explosive processes, TNT equivalent is used. Due to the almost exact, within percent, coincidence of the energy of explosive decomposition of 1 gram of TNT (trinitrotoluene, TNT) and 1 kilocalorie, it is conventionally accepted that 1 kiloton of TNT in energy terms corresponds to 1 thermochemical tercalorie.
Calorie content
The calorie content, or energy value of food, refers to the amount of energy that the body receives when it is fully absorbed. To determine full energy value of food, it is burned in a calorimeter and the heat released into the surrounding environment is measured water bath. Human energy consumption is measured in a similar way: in a sealed calorimeter chamber, the heat generated by a person is measured and converted into “burnt” calories - this way you can find out physiological energy value of food. In a similar way it is possible to determine the energy required to ensure the life and activity of any person. The table reflects the empirical results of these tests, from which the value of the products on their packaging is calculated. Artificial fats (margarines) and seafood fats have an efficiency of 4-8.5 kcal/g, so you can approximately find out their share in the total amount of fat.