How to Convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit in Excel

Celsius and Fahrenheit are two different units of temperature measurement. Celsius is widely used in most countries, while Fahrenheit is mainly used in the United States and some other regions. To convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit, we need to use the following formula:

$$F=C\times 1.8+32$$

where F is the temperature in Fahrenheit, and C is the temperature in Celsius. This formula is based on the fact that the freezing point of water is 0°C (32°F) and the boiling point is 100°C (212°F).

To convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit in Excel, we can use the formula above in a cell or a range of cells. For example, if we have a column of temperatures in Celsius in column A, we can enter the following formula in cell B2:

=A2*1.8+32

and then drag the fill handle down to copy the formula to the rest of the column. This will give us the corresponding temperatures in Fahrenheit in column B.

Alternatively, we can use the CONVERT function in Excel, which can convert between various units of measurement. The syntax of the CONVERT function is:

=CONVERT(number, from_unit, to_unit)

where number is the value to be converted, from_unit is the original unit, and to_unit is the desired unit. The units for temperature are:

• “C” for Celsius
• “F” for Fahrenheit
• “K” for Kelvin

To use the CONVERT function to convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit, we can enter the following formula in cell B2:

=CONVERT(A2, "C", "F")

and then drag the fill handle down to copy the formula to the rest of the column. This will also give us the corresponding temperatures in Fahrenheit in column B.

Explanation

To explain the conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit in Excel in more detail, we can use the following steps:

1. Enter the temperatures in Celsius in a column, such as column A. For example, we can enter 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 in cells A2 to A6.
2. In another column, such as column B, enter the formula to convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit. We can use either the formula =A2*1.8+32 or the function =CONVERT(A2, "C", "F") in cell B2.
3. Drag the fill handle down to copy the formula or function to the rest of the column. This will calculate the temperatures in Fahrenheit for each value in column A and display them in column B.
4. Format the cells in column B as numbers with one or two decimal places, depending on the desired accuracy. To do this, select the cells in column B, right-click and choose Format Cells, then select Number and adjust the Decimal places option.
5. Optionally, add labels and headings to the columns to make the data more clear. For example, we can enter “Celsius” in cell A1 and “Fahrenheit” in cell B1, and then apply bold formatting and center alignment to these cells.

The following table shows the result of the conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit in Excel:

Example

To illustrate the conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit in Excel with a real-world example, let’s suppose we have a list of average monthly temperatures in Jakarta, Indonesia, in Celsius, and we want to convert them to Fahrenheit for comparison with other cities. The following table shows the data we have:

To convert these temperatures from Celsius to Fahrenheit in Excel, we can follow the same steps as before:

1. Enter the data in two columns, such as column A and B, with the month names in column A and the temperatures in Celsius in column B. For example, we can enter “Jan” in cell A2 and 26.9 in cell B2, and so on.
2. In another column, such as column C, enter the formula or function to convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit. We can use either the formula =B2*1.8+32 or the function =CONVERT(B2, "C", "F") in cell C2.
3. Drag the fill handle down to copy the formula or function to the rest of the column. This will calculate the temperatures in Fahrenheit for each month and display them in column C.
4. Format the cells in column C as numbers with one or two decimal places, depending on the desired accuracy. To do this, select the cells in column C, right-click and choose Format Cells, then select Number and adjust the Decimal places option.
5. Optionally, add labels and headings to the columns to make the data more clear. For example, we can enter “Month” in cell A1, “Average Temperature (°C)” in cell B1, and “Average Temperature (°F)” in cell C1, and then apply bold formatting and center alignment to these cells.

The following table shows the result of the conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit in Excel for the average monthly temperatures in Jakarta:

Other Approaches

Besides using the formula or the function to convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit in Excel, there are some other possible approaches that we can use. For example, we can:

• Use a conversion table or a chart that shows the equivalent temperatures in both units, and then look up the values manually or use the VLOOKUP or HLOOKUP functions to find the matching values.
• Use an online converter or a calculator that can perform the conversion, and then copy and paste the results into Excel.
• Use a macro or a custom function that can automate the conversion process, and then run the macro or enter the custom function in the cells.

However, these approaches may have some drawbacks or limitations, such as:

• They may require additional steps or resources, such as creating or finding the conversion table or chart, accessing the online converter or calculator, or writing or installing the macro or custom function.
• They may not be as accurate or reliable as the formula or the function, as they may depend on the quality or availability of the source data or the tool used.
• They may not be as flexible or adaptable as the formula or the function, as they may not work for different units or ranges of values, or they may need to be updated or modified if the data changes.

Therefore, using the formula or the function to convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit in Excel is usually the simplest and most effective way to perform the conversion.