Natural Gas Converter
Convert natural gas between therms, CCF, cubic metres, kWh and BTU, with your own heating value.
The same quantity of gas, every way
| Unit | Amount |
|---|---|
| therms | 100 |
| CCF | 96.432 |
| MCF | 9.6432 |
| cubic feet | 9,643.2 |
| cubic metres | 273.065 |
| kWh | 2,930.71 |
| BTU | 10,000,000 |
| MMBTU | 10 |
| gigajoules | 10.55056 |
Gas is billed by volume but priced by energy
Your meter measures volume — cubic feet or cubic metres. What you actually buy is energy, and how much energy a cubic foot carries depends on the composition of the gas. That figure is the heating value (or calorific value), typically around 1,037 BTU per cubic foot in the US, and utilities publish the exact number for each billing period.
BTU = cubic feet × heating value
The units on a US bill
- CCF — one hundred cubic feet. The C is the Roman numeral for 100, not "cubic".
- MCF — one thousand cubic feet. Again Roman: M is 1,000, so MCF is ten CCF, not a million.
- therm — exactly 100,000 BTU, an energy unit.
Because a cubic foot of typical gas holds about 1,037 BTU, one CCF is roughly 1.037 therms — close enough to 1 that the two get used loosely, which is why bills can look inconsistent.
Comparing gas with electricity
One therm is about 29.3 kWh, so gas priced at $1.20 a therm works out near 4.1 cents per kWh of heat. Electricity at 15 cents per kWh is far dearer per unit of heat — unless you are using a heat pump, which delivers two to four kWh of heat per kWh of electricity and changes the comparison entirely.
Heating value varies by region, season and supplier. For an accurate bill check, use the figure printed on your statement rather than the default here.