British thermal unit
1
6.8
- noun
- /ˈbrɪtɪʃ ˈθɜrməl ˈjunɪt/
- Specialized
:
unidad térmica británica
- In a BTU-to-BTU (British Thermal Unit) comparison, wind-generated electricity doesn't do well compared to fossil fuel-generated electricity.
- quadrillion British thermal units
- British thermal units (BTUs)
Examples
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Energy prices are expressed in terms of British Thermal Units (Btu).
Academic text (1993) -
In June 2005, Iranian and Indian officials agreed that India would pay $3.215 per million British thermal units (mBtu).
Academic text (2008) -
Ratings for ACs are given in terms of BTUs (or British Thermal Units).
Blog text (5) -
Montana coal has been discovered to create more heat per ton than Powder River coal: 10,300 British thermal units compared to 8,000 BTUs.
Blog text (13) -
In 1986, global consumption of primary energy totaled about 300 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) (see Table 1 on this page).
Academic text (1991) -
In the industrial sector, the price differential between oil and gas was sufficiently large to cause some fuel switching from oil to natural gas and reduce the difference in oil consumption between the cases to only about 0.3 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu).
Academic text (1999) -
One of the most energy-intensive economies in the world, China consumed 37 quadrillion British thermal units (BTUs) of energy in 1996, two-thirds of which was by its industrial sector.
Academic text (1999) -
International Fuel Cell's phosphoric acid power plant generates not only electric power but also roughly 750,000 British thermal units per hour—enough heat to meet thermal needs in commercial and residential buildings.
Academic text (1994) -
The amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water is measured in British thermal units.
-
Energy consumption is often quantified in British thermal units to compare different fuels.
Synonyms
9
6.1
A measure of heat energy used for heaters and air conditioners
A unit of heat equal to the amount needed to raise one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit
A unit of energy used to measure the heat or cooling power of fuels and heaters like air conditioners
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built from 'British' + 'thermal' + 'unit', so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it denotes a unit for measuring heat associated with the British/imperial system. However, the precise technical definition (the specific quantity: one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit at one atmosphere) is specialized domain knowledge that a B1 learner would not derive from the parts alone, so it is only partially predictable.
Etymology
British thermal unit comes from engineers in Britain who wanted a simple measure of heat; they chose the amount of heat needed to warm one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. That's why the words British, thermal and unit show that it is a standard 'heat' measure, and why a British thermal unit is still used to rate heaters and air conditioners.