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Sensible heat

Q = mcΔT.

Mass (kg)

Specific heat (kJ/kg·K)

Temperature change (K)

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Method

Worked case: 50 kg of water, 4.186 kJ/kg·K, 20 K is 4,186 kJ.

What to write beside the result

A review can only check this figure if the inputs sit next to it. Write the value, the unit and the assumption the form used. A diameter in millimetres and a diameter in metres are not the same reading. A force in kilonewtons divided as if it were newtons is a thousand-fold error.

The result is the arithmetic on this page. It is not a utilisation, not a selected product, and not a clause from a standard. If the number is going into a shared container, name the page, the date and the inputs. The file-name checker does not read the calculation.

Logic: how this figure is built.

How to read a sensible-heat figure

Sensible heat is mass times specific heat times the temperature change, with no change of phase. 50 kg of water, 4.186 kJ/kg·K and 20 K is 4,186 kJ. That is the heat to warm the water, not to boil it.

Specific heat is the liquid or solid you have. Water at 4.186 is not steel and not air. A change of phase needs the latent heat, which is not on this page.

The temperature change is the change of the material. A room set-point and a water set-point are not interchangeable.

Use it for a tank or a process load screen. It is not a radiator size and not a building heat-loss compliance check.

• Related: fabric heat loss
• weights and heat

Last checked 3 October 2026. See the common-calculations note and the disclaimer.