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BTU per Minute (BTU/min) - Unit Information & Conversion

Symbol:BTU/min
Plural:BTU/min
Category:Power

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What is a BTU per Minute?

BTU per minute (BTU/min) measures moderate heat transfer rates. 1 BTU/min = 17.58 watts. Used for burners, boilers, some industrial heating. 60 BTU/min = 1 BTU/s. Less common than BTU/h; mainly conversion reference.

History of the BTU per Minute

Derived from BTU/h (standard HVAC unit) for higher-power applications. Rarely used in practice; kW or BTU/h preferred. Historical engineering reference unit.

Quick Answer

What is BTU/min? BTU per minute (BTU/min) measures heat transfer rate. 1 BTU/min = 17.58 watts = 1.055 kJ/min. 60× faster than BTU/h. Rarely used; BTU/h or kW preferred. Industrial burners sometimes rated in BTU/min. Use our power converter for conversions.

Key Facts: BTU per Minute

Property Value
Symbol BTU/min
Quantity Power
System Metric/SI Derived
Derived from Watt
Category Power
Standard Body NIST / ISO

Definition

1 BTU/min = 17.58 W = 0.01758 kW = 60 BTU/h = 0.0236 hp = 1.055 kJ/min

Common Uses

Industrial Burners: Gas burners, process heaters (sometimes rated in BTU/min). Engineering: Conversion reference between BTU/h and BTU/s. Boilers: Small commercial boilers (though BTU/h more common). Rarely Used: Most applications use BTU/h or kW instead.

Real-World Examples

Heating Equipment (BTU/min equivalents)

  • Home furnace (100,000 BTU/h): ~1,667 BTU/min = 29.3 kW
  • Small boiler (500,000 BTU/h): ~8,333 BTU/min = 146.5 kW
  • Industrial burner (5 million BTU/h): ~83,333 BTU/min = 1,465 kW
  • Large water heater (40,000 BTU/h): ~667 BTU/min = 11.7 kW

Conversion Reference

  • 1 kW: ~57 BTU/min (3,412 BTU/h)
  • 10 kW: ~569 BTU/min (34,120 BTU/h)
  • 100 kW: ~5,691 BTU/min (341,200 BTU/h)

Real-World Examples

Industrial Heating Equipment

BTU/min scale for industrial applications:

Equipment Output (BTU/min) In Watts Typical Use
Gas burner 500-2,000 8,790-35,160 Industrial heating
Commercial boiler 5,000-50,000 87,900-879,000 Plant steam
Furnace 1,000-10,000 17,580-175,800 Building heat
Industrial oven 2,000-20,000 35,160-351,600 Processing

Common Power System Comparisons

Where BTU/min fits in practical scale:

System Power (kW) Equivalent (BTU/min) Everyday Parallel
Microwave 1.2 68 Kitchen appliance
Electric heater 3 171 Space heater
Car engine (100 hp) 75 4,269 Vehicle
Small furnace 30 1,708 House heating

How do I convert BTU/min to BTU/h?

Formula: BTU/h = BTU/min × 60

Examples:

  • 100 BTU/min = 6,000 BTU/h
  • 1,000 BTU/min = 60,000 BTU/h
  • 10,000 BTU/min = 600,000 BTU/h

BTU/min to BTU/h converter →

How do I convert BTU/min to watts or kW?

Formula:

  • W = BTU/min × 17.58
  • kW = BTU/min × 0.01758

Examples:

  • 100 BTU/min = 1,758 W = 1.76 kW
  • 1,000 BTU/min = 17,580 W = 17.58 kW
  • 5,000 BTU/min = 87,900 W = 87.9 kW

BTU/min to Watts converter → BTU/min to kW converter →

Why is BTU/min rarely used?

BTU/h preferred: Easier to work with for HVAC sizing (avoid large numbers) kW preferred: International standard, simpler calculations BTU/min awkward: Falls between BTU/h (too slow) and BTU/s (too fast)

Example comparisons:

  • BTU/h: 100,000 BTU/h (easy to read)
  • BTU/min: 1,667 BTU/min (awkward decimal)
  • kW: 29.3 kW (simple)

Most equipment nameplates use BTU/h or kW, not BTU/min.

BTU per Minute Conversion Formulas

To Watt:

1 BTU/min = 17.584264 W
Example: 5 BTU/min = 87.921321 watts

To Milliwatt:

1 BTU/min = 17584.26421 mW
Example: 5 BTU/min = 87921.321052 milliwatts

To Kilowatt:

1 BTU/min = 0.017584 kW
Example: 5 BTU/min = 0.087921 kilowatts

To Megawatt:

1 BTU/min = 0.000018 MW
Example: 5 BTU/min = 0.000088 megawatts

To Gigawatt:

1 BTU/min = 1.7584e-8 GW
Example: 5 BTU/min = 8.7921e-8 gigawatts

To Horsepower:

1 BTU/min = 0.023581 hp
Example: 5 BTU/min = 0.117904 horsepower

To Metric Horsepower:

1 BTU/min = 0.023908 PS
Example: 5 BTU/min = 0.11954 PS

To Electric Horsepower:

1 BTU/min = 0.023571 hp(E)
Example: 5 BTU/min = 0.117857 hp(E)

To BTU per Hour:

1 BTU/min = 60 BTU/h
Example: 5 BTU/min = 300 BTU/h

To BTU per Second:

1 BTU/min = 0.016667 BTU/s
Example: 5 BTU/min = 0.083333 BTU/s

To Foot-pound per Second:

1 BTU/min = 12.969488 ft⋅lb/s
Example: 5 BTU/min = 64.847439 ft⋅lb/s

To Foot-pound per Minute:

1 BTU/min = 778.169262 ft⋅lb/min
Example: 5 BTU/min = 3890.846311 ft⋅lb/min

To Calorie per Second:

1 BTU/min = 4.20274 cal/s
Example: 5 BTU/min = 21.0137 cal/s

To Kilocalorie per Hour:

1 BTU/min = 15.129864 kcal/h
Example: 5 BTU/min = 75.64932 kcal/h

To Ton of Refrigeration:

1 BTU/min = 0.005 TR
Example: 5 BTU/min = 0.025 TR

To Erg per Second:

1 BTU/min = 175842642.103332 erg/s
Example: 5 BTU/min = 879213210.51666 erg/s

To Joule per Second:

1 BTU/min = 17.584264 J/s
Example: 5 BTU/min = 87.921321 J/s

Convert BTU per Minute

Need to convert BTU per Minute to other power units? Use our conversion tool.

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BTU per Minute Quick Info

BTU/min
Symbol:BTU/min
Category:Power
System:Various
Convert BTU per Minute

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