Convert 1.5 Hours to Minutes Easily – Excel Time Step by Step Guide

Time conversion can be a necessary task when tracking time or scheduling projects. Converting time from hours to minutes can make the calculation clear and more accurate. Excel has plenty of functions that can be used to accomplish this task. In this guide, we will understand the simple process of converting 1.5 hours to minutes in Excel.

Key Takeaways

• The HOUR function extracts the hour from the time value.
• The MINUTE function extracts minutes from the time value.
• To convert hours to minutes in Excel, use the formula =HOUR(A1)*60+MINUTE(A1).
• Utilize Excel’s Fill Handle feature to copy the formula to other cells quickly.
• Apply the =CONVERT(cell,”mn”,”hr”) function for converting minutes back to hours in Excel.

Download the spreadsheet and follow along with the tutorial on How to convert 1.5 hours to minutes in Excel – Download excel workbook1.5-hours-to-minutes.xlsx

 

Mastering Time in Excel

Need for Time Conversion

Time plays an important role in data analysis by examining trends, performance, and efficiency. Converting time in different units can help create accurate reports for different tasks like payroll calculation, scheduling projects, or planning resources.

Excel is a key tool that you can use for time-based calculations. These tasks can range from simple entries to complex calculations. Excel stores time as a fraction of a day, i.e., 1 is equal to a full day. Thus, calculations can be done easily and accurately in Excel.

Time Format in Excel

Excel stores times as a fractional part of a day. So, 1 represents a full 24-hour period. This means that:

• 1 hour is represented as 1/24 or approximately 0.0416667
• 1 minute is 1/(24*60) or approximately 0.000694444
• 1 second is 1/(24*60*60) or approximately 0.0000115741

 

Methods to Convert Hours to Minutes

Multiply by 60

STEP 1: Type the time value in hours.

STEP 2: Then, multiply the time in hours by 60 to get the value in minutes.

=A2*60

This multiplication method can quickly convert hours in decimal format to minutes.

Using the Convert Function

Excel offers various built-in functions that can be used to do time calculations. Using CONVERT function, will help to automate the process of converting time value from one unit to another.

=CONVERT(A2, “hr”, “mn”)

 

Convert Time in hh:mm format to Minutes

Simple Multiplication

To convert hours to minutes, you need to multiply the time component by 1440. As there are 24 hours in a day, and each hour has 60 minutes. So, in total, there are 24*60 i.e. 1440 minutes.

 

Using HOUR, MINUTE, and SECOND Functions

HOUR, MINUTE, and SECOND functions extracts respective hour, minute, and seconds component from the time value in Excel.

=(HOUR(A2) + MINUTE(A2)/60 + SECOND(A2)/3600) * 60

In this example, A2 contains the actual time stamp, and the formula breaks the time into its components before converting it to minutes.

Regardless of the function or feature you choose, Excel’s utility in automating the time conversion processes is in its skill to correctly and effectively handle large datasets, executing these conversions with a high degree of reliability, and reducing the time it would otherwise take to manually calculate each conversion.

Apply Custom Formatting

Follow the steps below to change time in decimal format to time in hh:mm format:

STEP 1: First, you need to divide the time by 24.

STEP 2: You need to right click on that cell and select Format Cells.

STEP 3: In the dialog box, select Time and then select the format hh:mm.

The new format will now be applied.

If the data is formatted properly, it will make things clear and minimize the chance of errors.

 

Tips and Tricks

It is important to understand the common mistakes that can happen when doing time calculations in Excel and how to fix them –

• When calculating the time difference that crosses midnight, Excel may return a negative value. To avoid this, you can include both date and time in your calculation.
• If the time is formatted incorrectly, the result could also be incorrect. So, it is important to check the formatting and keep it consistent.
• When working with dates in Excel, make sure that you account for leap years.
• When the time exceeds more than 24 hours, the cell should be formatted as [h]:mm:ss or [h]:mm.
• When you are copying a formula that contains fixed cell references, be sure to use an absolute reference for those cells. If this is not done, the formula will point to an incorrect cell reference.
• When displaying time in a cell, seconds should be included in the format and not rounded off.
• For the 12-hour clock, you should display the time in AM/PM format to avoid confusion.

 

FAQs

1. How to Convert Hours to Minutes using Excel functions?

A simple formula to convert hours to minutes is to use the HOUR and MINUTE formulas.

=HOUR(A1)*60 + MINUTE(A1)

2. How to Format time value that is 24 Hours?

If the time value goes beyond 24 hours, we will need to change the formatting for the cell to display the time correctly. To change the format, right click on the cell and select Format Cells. Then, in the dialog box, select Custom from the left panel and [h]:mm:ss.

3. How to convert 1.5 hrs to mins?

You can convert 1.5 hours to minutes in Excel using the CONVERT function.

=CONVERT(1.5,”hr”,”mn”)

This will automatically calculate the value and return 90 minutes.

4. How to add 1.5 hours to a time in Excel?

You can add 1.5 hours to a time value by simply using the addition formula.

=A1+”1:30″

This will increase the time mentioned in cell A1 by 1 hour and 30 minutes.