Calculate Heat Rate

Heat Rate Calculator

Determine thermal efficiency and fuel performance for power generation systems.

Units: lbs, kg, or SCF

BTU per unit (HHV or LHV)

Calculation Results

Total Heat Input: 0 BTU

Net Heat Rate: 0 BTU/kWh

Thermal Efficiency: 0%

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What is Heat Rate?

In power generation, Heat Rate is a measure of the efficiency of a generator or power plant that converts a fuel into heat and then into electricity. It represents the amount of fuel energy required to produce one unit of electrical energy (usually 1 kilowatt-hour).

The lower the heat rate, the higher the efficiency of the power plant. A perfectly efficient system would have a heat rate of 3,412.14 BTU/kWh (the heat equivalent of 1 kWh of electricity).

The Heat Rate Formula

Heat Rate = (Fuel Consumed × Heating Value) / Net Power Output

Thermal Efficiency Calculation

To convert Heat Rate into a percentage efficiency, you use the following formula:

Efficiency (%) = (3,412.14 / Heat Rate) × 100

Practical Example

Imagine a natural gas turbine that consumes 50,000 Standard Cubic Feet (SCF) of gas with a heating value of 1,020 BTU/SCF. If the turbine generates 4,500 kWh of electricity:

1. Total Heat Input: 50,000 × 1,020 = 51,000,000 BTU
2. Heat Rate: 51,000,000 / 4,500 = 11,333.33 BTU/kWh
3. Efficiency: (3,412.14 / 11,333.33) × 100 = 30.1%

Standard Heat Rate Benchmarks

Technology	Typical Heat Rate (BTU/kWh)
Combined Cycle Gas Turbine	6,400 – 7,500
Coal-Fired Steam Turbine	9,000 – 11,000
Simple Cycle Gas Turbine	9,500 – 12,000

function calculateHeatRate() { var fuelAmount = parseFloat(document.getElementById('fuelAmount').value); var heatingValue = parseFloat(document.getElementById('heatingValue').value); var netOutput = parseFloat(document.getElementById('netOutput').value); var resultsDiv = document.getElementById('hr-results'); var resTotalHeat = document.getElementById('resTotalHeat'); var resHeatRate = document.getElementById('resHeatRate'); var resEfficiency = document.getElementById('resEfficiency'); if (isNaN(fuelAmount) || isNaN(heatingValue) || isNaN(netOutput) || fuelAmount <= 0 || heatingValue <= 0 || netOutput <= 0) { alert("Please enter valid positive numbers for all fields."); resultsDiv.style.display = "none"; return; } var totalHeat = fuelAmount * heatingValue; var heatRate = totalHeat / netOutput; var efficiency = (3412.14 / heatRate) * 100; resTotalHeat.innerText = totalHeat.toLocaleString(undefined, {maximumFractionDigits: 2}); resHeatRate.innerText = heatRate.toLocaleString(undefined, {maximumFractionDigits: 2}); resEfficiency.innerText = efficiency.toLocaleString(undefined, {maximumFractionDigits: 2}); resultsDiv.style.display = "block"; }