Watt-hours to Gigajoules conversion

Watt-hours to Gigajoules conversion table

Watt-hours (Wh)Gigajoules (GJ)
00
10.0000036
20.0000072
30.0000108
40.0000144
50.000018
60.0000216
70.0000252
80.0000288
90.0000324
100.000036
200.000072
300.000108
400.000144
500.00018
600.000216
700.000252
800.000288
900.000324
1000.00036
10000.0036

How to convert watt-hours to gigajoules?

To convert watt-hours (Wh) to gigajoules (GJ), we need to follow these conversion steps, bearing in mind the relationships between different units of energy:

  1. Understanding Units:

    • 1 Wh = 1 Watt * 1 hour
    • 1 hour = 3600 seconds
    • 1 Watt (W) = 1 Joule/second (J/s)
  2. Conversion Steps:

    • 1 Wh = 1 Watt * 1 hour = (1 Joule/second) * (3600 seconds) = 3600 Joules (J)
    • Now to convert Joules to gigajoules:
      • 1 Joule = 10^-9 Gigajoules (GJ)
      • Therefore, 3600 Joules = 3600 * 10^-9 Gigajoules = 3.6 * 10^-6 Gigajoules (GJ)

Hence, 1 Watt-hour is equal to 3.6 * 10^-6 Gigajoules.

Real-World Examples of Watt-hours:

Here are some real-world quantities of energy in watt-hours and their contexts:

  1. Smartphone Battery:

    • A typical smartphone battery might have a capacity of around 10 Wh.
  2. Laptop Battery:

    • A standard laptop battery might range between 50 Wh to 100 Wh, depending on the model and usage.
  3. Electric Car:

    • An electric car battery pack could have a capacity of around 60,000 Wh (60 kWh).

Let's convert these examples to gigajoules:

  1. Smartphone Battery (10 Wh):

    • 10 Wh * 3.6 * 10^-6 GJ/Wh = 3.6 * 10^-5 GJ
  2. Laptop Battery (say 75 Wh):

    • 75 Wh * 3.6 * 10^-6 GJ/Wh = 2.7 * 10^-4 GJ
  3. Electric Car (60,000 Wh or 60 kWh):

    • 60,000 Wh * 3.6 * 10^-6 GJ/Wh = 0.216 GJ

These conversions help put into perspective the amount of energy stored in various devices and their respective scales.

See below section for step by step unit conversion with formulas and explanations. Please refer to the table below for a list of all the Gigajoules to other unit conversions.

What is watt-hours?

A watt-hour is a unit of energy and its units, Wh, are formed with W for watt and h for hour from SI unit system. Its definition, in the context of electricity, is the energy of one watt power flowing for one hour.

Followings equivalent equations are identical but in different units.

1Wh=1Pt=1IVt=3600J=2.2471022eV=8.598105cal1 Wh = 1 Pt = 1 IVt = 3600 J = 2.247 * 10^{22} eV = 8.598*10^5 cal

PPowerP - Power
tTime (in hours. Multiply by 3600 to convert to seconds)t - Time \text{ (in hours. Multiply by 3600 to convert to seconds)}
ICurrentI - Current VVoltsV - Volts
JJoulesJ - Joules
eVElectronvolteV - Electronvolt
calCaloriescal - Calories

Wikipedia page for Kilowatt-hour (watt-hour redirected to kWh) UCI article on Energy Units and Conversions Ian Woofenden's explanation on difference between Watts and Watt-Hours

What is gigajoules?

A gigajoule (GJ) is a unit of energy, specifically a large unit of measurement for electrical and thermal energy.

One gigajoule is equal to one billion joules. To put that in perspective:

  • 1 joule is the amount of energy required to lift an object weighing about 2 pounds up 3 feet.
  • 1 megajoule (MJ) is equal to 1 million joules, which is a significant amount of energy but still relatively small compared to what we use on a daily basis.
  • 1 gigajoule (GJ), on the other hand, is equivalent to:
    • About 277.8 kilowatt-hours (kWh) or 0.2778 megawatt-hours (MWh).
    • The energy produced by burning about 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of gasoline.
    • Enough electricity to power a typical household for about 24 hours.

Gigajoules are often used in the context of:

  • Energy production and consumption (e.g., electrical power plants, oil refineries)
  • Thermal energy storage (e.g., large-scale heat pumps, industrial processes)
  • Renewable energy sources (e.g., solar panels, wind turbines)

I hope that helps you understand gigajoules better!

Complete Watt-hours conversion table

Enter # of Watt-hours
Convert 1 Wh to other unitsResult
Watt-hours to Watt-seconds (Wh to Ws)3600
Watt-hours to Watt-minutes (Wh to Wm)60
Watt-hours to Milliwatt-hours (Wh to mWh)1000
Watt-hours to Kilowatt-hours (Wh to kWh)0.001
Watt-hours to Megawatt-hours (Wh to MWh)0.000001
Watt-hours to Gigawatt-hours (Wh to GWh)1e-9
Watt-hours to Joules (Wh to J)3600
Watt-hours to Kilojoules (Wh to kJ)3.6
Watt-hours to Megajoules (Wh to MJ)0.0036
Watt-hours to Gigajoules (Wh to GJ)0.0000036
Watt-hours to calories (Wh to cal)860.4206500956
Watt-hours to Kilocalories (Wh to kcal)0.8604206500956