m3 of gas to kWh converter (cubic metres to kWh)
1 m³ of natural gas holds about 9.77 kWh, using the Dutch reference gas. Your own gas may be richer; the note below shows how to check.
UK and many other bills use richer gas; if yours lists a calorific value in MJ per m³, divide it by 3.6.
1 m³ of natural gas ≈ 9.77 kWh (35.17 MJ)
Why 9.77?
Gas is sold by volume, but what you pay for is the heat inside it, and that depends on what the gas is made of. Dutch energy bills use a reference gas with 35.17 MJ per cubic metre, measured at 0 °C and 1 atm. Divide by 3.6 and you get 9.77 kWh.
That figure is the higher heating value, which bills often call the gross calorific value. It includes the heat released when the water vapour in the exhaust condenses, and a condensing boiler gets part of it back, more when the return water is cool.
Gas elsewhere is often richer, at 10.5 to 11.5 kWh per m³. Your bill may list a calorific value in MJ per m³: divide it by 3.6 and type the result in the third box of the calculator.
On the napkin
Say your annual statement shows 1,200 m³ of gas. That's 1,200 × 9.77 ≈ 11,700 kWh of heat in the gas, nearly five times the 2,500 kWh of electricity an average Dutch home takes from the grid in a year. For most homes with a gas boiler, the pipe brings in far more energy than the wire.
Common values
At the Dutch 9.77 kWh per m³:
| m³ of gas | kWh |
|---|---|
| 1 | 9.77 |
| 10 | 97.7 |
| 100 | 977 |
| 1,000 | 9,769 |
| kWh | m³ of gas |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.102 |
| 10 | 1.02 |
| 100 | 10.2 |
| 1,000 | 102 |
Need another unit?
The full energy converter shows any amount in every energy and power unit at once, from joules to therms to cups of tea.
Want to know what your gas bill would be with a heat pump?
The free spreadsheet works it out from the prices on your own bill. It comes by email, together with the unit converter as a sheet. One short email a month at most.
Send me the spreadsheetsSources: 35.17 MJ per m³ (at 0 °C and 1 atm, higher heating value) is the Dutch reference value used on energy bills, the same as in the full converter. 1 kWh = 3.6 MJ by definition. Dutch home electricity: CBS StatLine 81528NED, 2023 (provisional).
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