Air Conditioner Capacity Is Measured in Tons — Know the Reason? Why is air conditioner capacity measured in tons? You may have wondered this, especially since you know your 4-ton capacity air conditioner doesn’t actually weigh 4 tons. Here’s what that 4 ton designation really means and why air conditioner capacity is measured this way. We know that the air conditioner’s number of tons doesn’t refer to its weight. In fact, this number refers to the amount of heat the air conditioner can remove from a house within one hour. For example, a 4-ton air conditioner is able to remove 48,000 British thermal units (or BTUs) from the house per hour. One BTU is roughly equivalent to the heat that would be produced if you lit one match and burnt it all the way. One ton of A/C capacity is equivalent to 12,000 BTU per hour. Now we know what a ton means, but we still haven’t answered the question of why the ton is the unit of measure for air conditioner capacity. Before the invention of the air conditioner, people who could afford it used large blocks of ice to cool their homes in the summer and refrigerate food.

The ice was harvested during the winter from frozen lakes and rivers. But how did the use of ice to cool buildings lead to the term “ton”? Basically, it takes 143 BTUs to melt a one-pound block of ice at 32 degrees. Accordingly, if you have a one-ton (2000 pound) block of ice, it takes 286,000 BTUs to melt it completely. If that block of ice melts evenly over the course of the day, it absorbs heat at the rate of 11,917 BTU/hour. Rounded up, we get 12,000 BTU/hour, or one ton of AC capacity. Today most people know that a ton is used to measure A/C capacity, but not everyone knows that the term originally referred to blocks of ice! For more information on air conditioner capacity or any other home comfort issues, contact the pros at Climactic Conditioning Co., Inc. We’re proud to serve homeowners in and around Sarasota, Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch.How do you determine the tonnage of Goodman AC units?This number is located on a plate attached to the back of the unit, near the power supply and coolant lines.

How much is a Goodman air handler? The model number includes the nominal cooling capacity in three digits beginning with zero. This three-digit number is the unit's capacity measured in British Thermal Units. For example, "018" indicates 18,000 BTUs. air handling unit applicationTo calculate tonnage, divide the BTUs by 12,000, which is the weight of one refrigeration ton. ac window unit size roomFor example, a unit with 18,000 BTUs has a tonnage of 1.5. ac to dc power unitAs of 2014, the Goodman Manufacturing Company website provides product specifications, including model numbers, for all current air conditioning units and some older models. What are Rheem AC model numbers for? Rheem air conditioning model and serial numbers are used to determine the age of the unit as well as where it was made.

This information is used for insura... Does Goodman Heating manufacture air conditioners? Goodman produces both heating and air conditioning systems. As of 2015, Goodman has six different series of central air conditioning systems. Recently-built Goodman air conditioning units are considered highly reliable, according to heating and air conditioning review website WebHVAC. Coleman air conditioning units are available for purchase from American RV Company, AdventureRV.net and PPL Motor Homes, as of 2015. All three retailers se... Does Bryant make a Wi-Fi-enabled furnace thermostat? What types of fireplaces are safe for installing gas logs? How the heating system works? What are Riello burners for oil furnaces? What is a fail-safe thermostat? How do you install a metal chimney?Skip to main content. How to Convert KW to HP for Air Conditioners The speed of an air conditioner motor is measured in HP. Horsepower and kilowatts are two units used to measure power.

For an air conditioner, horsepower is generally used to represent the speed that the AC motor is running at while kilowatts refers to the electrical use of the motor. The higher the motor speed, the more electricity is being used. To convert from kW to HP for air conditioners, you need to know the number of kW being converted. Consult your owner's manual of your air conditioner to determine the number of kilowatts being used. Divide the number of kilowatts by 2.55 to convert from kW to HP. For example, if your air conditioner's capacity was 10 kW, you would divide 10 by 2.55 to get about 3.92 HP. Multiply the number of kW by 0.392 as an alternative method to convert from kW to HP. Remediation, Heating, Air Conditioning, and Ventilation > We offer Air Conditioners for both small area and large area cooling and dehumidifying. In insulated areas, we can provide one ton of cooling capacity per 400-sq. ft. of surface area. In uninsulated areas, we can provide one ton of cooling capacity per 200-sq. ft. of surface area.

Looking for eligible equipment? 1-1.5 Ton Spot Cooler 2 Ton Spot Cooler 3-4 Ton Spot Cooler 5 Ton Spot Cooler 7.5-12 Ton Air Conditioner 20 Ton Air Conditioner 25 Ton Air Conditioner 40 Ton Air ConditionerYou don't need to be a heating and air conditioning expert to decide on the best air conditioning equipment to replace or upgrade your existing unit. Understanding how AC capacity is measured, however, and the factors that influence proper equipment sizing will help you make the best choices among the options that your contractor gives you. The ability of your air conditioner to remove heat from the air inside your home is measured in tons. This can be confusing unless you're aware of the origin of the units of measurement used in specifying AC capacity. The "tons" referred to in AC capacity measurements do not refer to the weight of the equipment. If your home requires a three-ton air conditioner, it does not mean that your HVAC contractor has to figure out how to move and install a unit that weighs 6,000 pounds.

Rather than a measure of weight, the AC capacity "tons" are a measure of the number of BTUs of heat per hour that your AC unit can remove from the air in your home. A BTU, or British thermal unit, is a measure of energy. One BTU is the amount of heat required to elevate the temperature of one pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. To give you some idea of how large a BTU is, you can release about one BTU of heat by burning a couple of toothpicks. Before mechanical refrigeration and air conditioning were invented, people used ice for refrigeration and for cooling buildings. Ice was cut from frozen rivers and lakes in the winter and stored for use in hot weather. The ice was measured and sold in tons. When mechanical refrigeration and air conditioning systems were being commercialized, it was useful to express their cooling ability in terms that people could easily relate to. The cooling capacity was specified in terms of how many tons of ice would have to be melted in a day to produce the same cooling power as the mechanical system.

In order for a ton of ice to melt in one day, approximately 12,000 BTUs of heat must be added to it every hour. So, a one-ton AC capacity cooling system can move 12,000 BTUs of heat per hour, except that it removes heat from the air rather than adding heat to ice. Your HVAC contractor will design your air conditioning system to perform efficiently under the climate conditions expected where you live. Some of the factors that will be included in your AC system design are the airflow required to move conditioned air throughout your home, the expected temperature differential between the inside and outside of your home, and the amount of moisture that will have to be removed from your air to keep your home comfortable. Here in the Chicago area, AC systems have to be designed to perform well during our hottest and most humid summer days. After your HVAC contractor finishes the load calculations for your system, he or she may specify equipment that's bigger than the nominal AC capacity tonnage specified by the design.

The nameplate tonnage of air conditioning equipment is determined by manufacturers using standards specified by the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). The AHRI ratings are based on a system maintaining an indoor temperature of 80 degrees with a standard humidity level. You'll probably want to keep your home cooler than 80 degrees on hot summer days, and the humidity in the Chicago area isn't the same as the standard used in the AHRI ratings. For these reasons, it's important that your HVAC contractor adjust the equipment requirements for your system to reflect those differences. Your contractor should use ACCA Manual S for finalizing your system design. Manual S is produced by the Air Conditioning Contractors of America. It's the nationally recognized standard for proper AC equipment sizing. Using it will ensure that your system meets code requirements. Your cooling system should be built with equipment that's sized right specific to your building. If the AC capacity of your equipment is too small for your system, your home or office won't be comfortable on the hottest summer days.

There's a tendency to oversize equipment in AC system design to be sure the building will stay cool under the most extreme summer temperature conditions, but equipment oversizing is a bad idea. An oversized system costs more upfront because of higher equipment and labor costs. It also costs more to operate. Oversized equipment brings the building temperature to the set point quickly, resulting in the frequent starting and stopping of the compressor. A correctly-sized system will have longer run times, resulting in much less wear on the system's moving parts. Think of a properly-sized system as being like a car running smoothly down the highway on a long road trip, while an oversized system is like a car caught in stop-and-go rush hour traffic. Oversized AC equipment will make it harder to keep your building comfortable. The short run times mean that the system is off most of the time. With the thermostat located on an interior wall, the parts of your house near exterior walls will heat up to an uncomfortable temperature before the system kicks on again.

A correctly-sized system keeps air flowing most of the time, minimizing temperature differences between different areas of the building. A smaller system will also run quieter than a system with larger equipment. Humidity control is one of the bigger factors to consider to keep your home or office comfortable. A room with high humidity feels warmer than a room with low humidity even at the same temperature. The AC system removes moisture from the air by condensing it on the cold indoor coil. In a system that has oversized equipment, the short run times will often keep the coil from getting cold enough to condense the water vapor in the air. The increased humidity in an oversized system not only makes it hard to keep the building comfortable, but it can also lead to mold growth and structural damage due to excess moisture. With modern energy-efficient construction, buildings often require smaller AC capacity systems than would have been needed just a few years ago. Other factors that can reduce the size of equipment needed for building comfort include frequent filter changes, keeping coils clean and efficient duct design.