What are the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change default calorific values in kilocalories per kilogram for the fuels I buy in India?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Table 1.2 gives net calorific values in terajoules per gigagram, which equals megajoules (MJ) per kilogram (kg). Divide by 4.1868 and multiply by 1,000 for kilocalories (kcal) per kg: diesel 10,270, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) 11,297, other bituminous coal 6,162, lignite 2,842, wood 3,726.

How to convert

1. IPCC's Box 1.1 states that 1 MJ per kg equals 1 gigajoule per tonne. A value in terajoules per gigagram is the same number, by my arithmetic: 1 terajoule per 1,000 tonnes is 1 MJ per kg.
2. kcal per kg = MJ per kg / 4.1868 x 1,000. IPCC's coal definition pairs 23,865 kilojoules per kg with 5,700 kcal per kg, which implies 4.1868.
3. PPAC, the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, rounds to 4.19 kilojoules per kcal. The two differ by 0.08%.

Table 1.2 defaults in kcal per kg

Net values, with IPCC's figure in MJ per kg first. Results are rounded to the nearest whole kcal.

• Liquefied petroleum gases 47.3 = 11,297. Natural gas 48.0 = 11,465 per kg of gas.
• Motor gasoline 44.3 = 10,581. Jet kerosene 44.1 = 10,533. Other kerosene 43.8 = 10,461. Naphtha 44.5 = 10,629.
• Gas or diesel oil 43.0 = 10,270. Residual fuel oil 40.4 = 9,649. Petroleum coke 32.5 = 7,762.
• Coking coal and coke oven coke 28.2 = 6,735. Other bituminous coal 25.8 = 6,162. Sub-bituminous coal 18.9 = 4,514. Lignite 11.9 = 2,842.
• Wood and wood waste 15.6 = 3,726. Charcoal 29.5 = 7,046. Other primary solid biomass 11.6 = 2,771.

Two cross-checks

• Natural gas per standard cubic metre (SCM): 48.0 MJ per kg x 0.76 kg per SCM, PPAC's density, = 36.5 MJ = 8,713 kcal net. PPAC's own net figure is 90% of 10,000 = 9,000 kcal, so IPCC's value comes out 3.2% lower. The two sources do not describe identical gas.
• PPAC's fuel oil, kerosene and motor gasoline values are 10,440, 10,638 and 11,135 kcal per kg. Against the IPCC net values above they are 8.2%, 1.7% and 5.2% higher. IPCC says net is about 5% below gross for oil, so only gasoline fits that pattern. PPAC does not say whether its values are gross or net.

A wood test report against the default

• Lab result (example): 3,500 kcal per kg as received
• IPCC default: 15.6 / 4.1868 x 1,000 = 3,726 kcal per kg. The test is 3,500 / 3,726 = 0.939, so 6.1% lower
• IPCC's range for wood, which it marks as expert judgement, 7.90 to 31.0 MJ per kg, is 1,887 to 7,404 kcal per kg. 3,500 is inside
• Energy in 10 tonnes: 10,000 x 3,500 = 35,000,000 kcal = 146.5 gigajoules at 4.1868 per kcal

The 3,500 kcal per kg result is an example. A real lab report will state its moisture basis; match it to the tonnes you weighed.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into monthly records. Keep any fuel test report in kcal per kg beside them, so the heat value you used can be traced.

• Furnace oil and kerosene heat values
• GCV or NCV for coal, gas and oil
• Firewood, charcoal, coal: two heat values
• India natural gas GCV per SCM

Sources: IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2, Chapter 1 (Box 1.1, Table 1.1 coal definitions and Table 1.2), PPAC Ready Reckoner 2025-26, Tables 9.1 and 9.5

Last reviewed 2026-11-05. These are defaults for a gap-filling estimate. A heat value from your own fuel test is better.