Excel is a powerful tool for working with data, especially numerical data. One of the common tasks that you may encounter is converting from one unit of time to another, such as from hours to minutes. This can be useful for calculating durations, billing rates, schedules, and more.
In this article, we will show you how to convert from hours to minutes in Excel using different methods. We will also explain the basic theory behind the conversion, and provide a detailed example with real data.
Before we dive into the Excel formulas, let’s review the basic theory behind converting from hours to minutes. The key concept is that one hour is equal to 60 minutes. Therefore, to convert from hours to minutes, we need to multiply the number of hours by 60.
For example, if we have 2 hours, we can convert it to minutes by multiplying 2 by 60, which gives us 120 minutes. Similarly, if we have 0.5 hours, we can convert it to minutes by multiplying 0.5 by 60, which gives us 30 minutes.
However, there is a catch. Excel stores time values as fractions of a day, not as hours or minutes. For example, 2 hours is stored as 0.083333333, which is 2 divided by 24, the number of hours in a day. Likewise, 0.5 hours is stored as 0.020833333, which is 0.5 divided by 24.
Therefore, to convert from hours to minutes in Excel, we need to first multiply the time value by 24 to get the number of hours, and then multiply it by 60 to get the number of minutes. Alternatively, we can combine these two steps and multiply the time value by 1440, which is 24 times 60.
Methods
There are different methods to convert from hours to minutes in Excel, depending on how you want to display the result. Here are some of the most common methods:
Method 1: Using a Simple Formula
The simplest method to convert from hours to minutes in Excel is to use a simple formula that multiplies the time value by 1440. For example, if the time value is in cell A1, you can enter the following formula in cell B1:
=A1*1440
This will return the number of minutes as a decimal number. For example, if A1 contains 2 hours, B1 will return 120. If A1 contains 0.5 hours, B1 will return 30.
Method 2: Using the MINUTE Function
Another method to convert from hours to minutes in Excel is to use the MINUTE function, which returns the minute component of a time value. For example, if the time value is in cell A1, you can enter the following formula in cell B1:
=MINUTE(A1)
This will return the number of minutes as an integer between 0 and 59. For example, if A1 contains 2 hours, B1 will return 0. If A1 contains 0.5 hours, B1 will return 30.
However, this method only works for time values that are less than one hour. If the time value is more than one hour, the MINUTE function will ignore the hour component and only return the minute component. For example, if A1 contains 2.5 hours, B1 will return 30, not 150.
To fix this, you can use the HOUR function to get the hour component of the time value, and then multiply it by 60 to get the number of minutes. For example, if the time value is in cell A1, you can enter the following formula in cell B1:
=HOUR(A1)*60+MINUTE(A1)
This will return the number of minutes as an integer. For example, if A1 contains 2.5 hours, B1 will return 150.
Method 3: Using the TIME Function
A third method to convert from hours to minutes in Excel is to use the TIME function, which returns a time value based on the given hour, minute, and second arguments. For example, if the time value is in cell A1, you can enter the following formula in cell B1:
=TIME(0,A1*60,0)
This will return the number of minutes as a time value. For example, if A1 contains 2 hours, B1 will return 2:00:00. If A1 contains 0.5 hours, B1 will return 0:30:00.
However, this method requires you to format the result cell as a time format, otherwise it will display a decimal number. To do this, you can right-click on the cell, select Format Cells, choose Custom, and enter the following format:
[m]:ss
This will display the number of minutes as a time value with the format mm:ss. For example, if A1 contains 2 hours, B1 will display 120:00. If A1 contains 0.5 hours, B1 will display 30:00.
Example
To illustrate how to convert from hours to minutes in Excel, let’s use a real data example. Suppose we have a table that shows the duration of different activities in hours, as shown below:
| Activity | Duration (hours) |
|---|---|
| Reading | 1.5 |
| Writing | 2 |
| Cooking | 0.75 |
| Cleaning | 1.25 |
| Total | 5.5 |
We want to convert the duration from hours to minutes, and display the result in a new column. We can use any of the methods described above, but for simplicity, we will use the first method, which is to multiply the time value by 1440. Here are the steps to do this:
- Enter the following formula in cell C2:
=B2*1440
- Copy the formula down to cell C6.
- Enter the following formula in cell C7 to get the total number of minutes:
=SUM(C2:C6)
- Format the cells C2:C7 as Number with zero decimal places.
The result should look like this:
| Activity | Duration (hours) | Duration (minutes) |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | 1.5 | 90 |
| Writing | 2 | 120 |
| Cooking | 0.75 | 45 |
| Cleaning | 1.25 | 75 |
| Total | 5.5 | 330 |
We can see that the total duration of the activities is 330 minutes, or 5.5 hours.
Other Approaches
There are other approaches to convert from hours to minutes in Excel, such as using the CONVERT function, which can convert between different units of measurement, or using the TEXT function, which can format a value as text according to a specified format. However, these approaches are more complex and may not be suitable for all situations. Therefore, we recommend using the methods described above, as they are simple and effective.
