Induction of thermogenesis in brown and brite adipocytes has recently emerged as a therapeutic target for novel anti obesogenic therapies necessitating the development of methods that can accurately measure heat production in these cells. Modern isothermal microcalorimetric techniques allow for the high throughput quantitative measurement of cellular heat production with limited sample material. Here, we describe the application of this technique for the measurement of thermogenesis in both floating and adherent adipocytes from various murine depots and human cell lines.