Hi,
I found this explanation which I certainly couldn't improve on.
The
British thermal unit (BTU or Btu) is a traditional unit of
energy. It is approximately the amount of energy needed to heat one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. One Btu is equal to about 1.06
kilojoules. It is used in the
power,
steam generation,
heating and
air conditioning industries. In scientific contexts the BTU has largely been replaced by the
SI unit of energy, the
joule (J), though it may be used as a measure of agricultural energy production (BTU/kg). It is still used 'unofficially' in
metric English-speaking countries (such as Canada, the United Kingdom), and remains the standard unit of classification for air conditioning units manufactured and sold in many non-English-speaking metric countries.
In
North America, the term "BTU" is used to describe the heat value (
energy content) of fuels, and also to describe the
power of heating and cooling systems, such as furnaces, stoves, barbecue grills, and air conditioners. When used as a unit of power, BTU 'per hour' (BTU/h) is understood, though this is often abbreviated to just "BTU".
I located it at this site all credit for this info is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_thermal_unit
Hope this is what you need,
RSMITH972278
P.S. PLEASE RATE ME !
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