# Power versus Energy

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-versus-energy/961407
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 21, 2022, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-versus-energy/961407 "2022-03-21T03:56:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 2

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### Author: ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2022, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-versus-energy/961407/21 "2022-03-23T01:23:03Z")

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> [@Heracles](#):
>
> Shouldn’t a barbecue grill be rated on its power output (in BTU per hour) ?

Yes, they should be rated in BTUs per hour. Barbecue grill manufacturers aren’t really well known for their strict adherence to proper units.

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### Author: ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2022, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-versus-energy/961407/22 "2022-03-23T01:23:24Z")

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> [@Heracles](#):
>
> If BTU is a measure of energy, what does it mean when a gas grill is advertised as “70500 BTU” ? [This explanation](https://www.napoleon.com/en/ca/barbecues/blog/science-bbq-btus-explained-what-are-btus) at Napoleon says a BTU is 1055 joules, but doesn’t address the energy vs power thing – worse, it discusses energy per square inch. Shouldn’t a barbecue grill be rated on its power output (in BTU per hour) ?

It really is BTU/hr, but it’s such a widely used unit of thermal power that everybody just drops the /hr. It’s kind of like concrete being sold by the yard rather than by the cubic yard.

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### Author: ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2022, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/power-versus-energy/961407/23 "2022-03-23T01:39:17Z")

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> [@Heracles](#):
>
> it discusses energy per square inch.

The square inch part refers to Heat Flux, or power per unit area. A acetylene torch puts out a lot of BTU/hr but is not a good method for bbq since it is too high on Heat Flux.

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