Gravitational Potential Energy Calculator
Compute stored gravitational energy and the height change needed for a target energy.
About Gravitational Potential Energy Calculator
Gravitational storage is energy-dense only at large mass or great height: a tonne raised 100 metres stores under 0.3 kWh even before losses. That is why pumped hydro uses reservoirs rather than weights. The height needed for a single kilowatt-hour makes the fundamental limitation of gravity storage immediately obvious.
Formula
Gravitational Potential Energy
E = m g Δh, reduced by the round-trip conversion efficiency
- Δh
- Change in height
- efficiency
- Share recovered after pumping and generation losses
Worked example
With the default values below, Gravitational Potential Energy Calculator returns Energy Stored of 981,000.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Massminimum 0 kg
- 1,000 kg
- Change in heightminimum 0 m
- 100 m
- Gravitational accelerationminimum 0.01 m/s2
- 9.81 m/s2
- Conversion efficiencyaccepts 0–100 %
- 85 %
Results
- Energy Stored
- 981,000.00 J
- Recoverable Energy After Losses
- 833,850.00 J
- Recoverable Energy
- 0.23163 kWh
- Energy per Kilogram
- 981.000 J/kg
- Height Needed for One Kilowatt-Hour
- 431.7 m
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Gravitational Potential Energy
- 3Energy Stored= 981,000.00 J
- 4Recoverable Energy After Losses= 833,850.00 J
- 5Recoverable Energy= 0.23163 kWh
- 6Energy per Kilogram= 981.000 J/kg
- 7Height Needed for One Kilowatt-Hour= 431.7 m
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 5 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Gravitational Potential Energy calculated?
E = m g Δh, reduced by the round-trip conversion efficiency Gravitational storage is energy-dense only at large mass or great height: a tonne raised 100 metres stores under 0.3 kWh even before losses. That is why pumped hydro uses reservoirs rather than weights.
Why does Gravitational Potential Energy matter?
The height needed for a single kilowatt-hour makes the fundamental limitation of gravity storage immediately obvious.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 4 inputs: Mass, Change in height, Gravitational acceleration, Conversion efficiency. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.