Common Unit Abbreviations & Terms

Guide to Common Unit and Related Abbreviations

Following are common abbreviations and descriptions for most measurements, units and labels used on Ecology Prime™.

• °C:  degrees Celsius
• °F:  degrees Fahrenheit
• °K: degrees Kelvin
• AC:  Alternating Current
• AU: astronomical unit
• B.C.E.: Before the Common Era or Before the Current Era (formerly B.C.)
• bcf:  billion cubic feet
• bcm:  billion cubic meter(s)
• boe:  Barrels of oil equivalent
• BTU:  British thermal unit
• C.E.: Common Era or the Current Era (formerly A.D.)
• Cal:  calorie(s)
• CFL:  compact fluorescent lamp
• cfs:  cubic feet per second
• cm:  centimeter
• cps:  cycles per second
• DC:  Direct Current
• EER:  energy efficiency ratio
• EJ:  exajoule (one quintillion joules)
• EMF:  electromagnetic field
• ESS:  energy storage system
• ft:  foot or feet
• G: Gauss (measures magnetic field strength)
• gal:  gallon(s)
• Gazillion: A whole lot. See shitload.
• GFN:  Global Footprint Network
• GHG:  Greenhouse gas(es) 
• GJ:  gigajoule (billion joules)
• GW:  gigawatt (billion watts)
• GWh:  gigawatt hour(s)
• ha: hectare or hectares
• hp:  horsepower
• in.: inch
• J:  Joule
• Kg: kilogram (1,000 grams)
• kn: knot
• koe:  kilowatt of oil equivalent
• kV:  kilovolt (1,000 volts)
• KW:  kilowatt (1,000 watts)
• KWh:  kilowatt hour(s)
• Kya: thousand years ago
• lb. or lbs.: pound or pounds (Imperial = 16 ounces or. oz.)
• LED:  Light Emitting Diode
• LEED:  Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
• LNG:  Liquefied Natural Gas
• ly (or l.y.): Light-year or Light year
• m:  meter(s)
• m²:  square meter(s)
• m³:  cubic meter(s)
• mi:  mile(s)
• mi²:  square mile(s)
• mi³: cubic miles
• Mbd:  million barrels per day
• Mboe:  million barrels of oil equivalent
• Mha: million hectares
• MM:  Million(s) – usually
• MPG:  miles per gallon
• Mt:  metric ton (also million tons)
• Mtoe:  million ton(s) of oil equivalent
• MW:  megawatt (one million watts) 
• MWh:  megawatt hour(s)
• NM or nmi: nautical mile(s)
• PFC:  perfluorocarbons 
• PV:  photovoltaic
• PVC (solar):  photovoltaic cell
• PVC:  polyvinyl chloride
• RES:  Renewable energy source
• Shitload (shit load): An awful lot. See Gazillion.
• SI:  International System of Units
• t (Imperial):  ton (2,000 pounds)
• t (metric): tonne (1,000 kilograms or Kg)
• tcf:  trillion cubic feet
• TW:  terawatt (one trillion watts)
• TWh:  terawatt-hour (one trillion watt hours)
• V: volt(s) 
• W:  watt(s)
• Wh:  watt-hour