Commercial refrigeration systems in the US are mostly rated in tons of refrigeration and this term is used widely in other parts of the world. However, outside the US, cooling systems may be normally specified in kW (or MW) or in Btu/h. The roots for refrigeration are in the ice making industry, and the ice manufacturers wanted an easy way of understanding the size of a refrigeration system in terms of the production of ice. If 288,000 Btu are required to make one ton of ice, divide this by 24 hours to get 12,000 Btu/h required to make one ton of ice in one day. This is the requirement for the phase change from liquid to solid — to convert water at 0°C (+32°F) into ice at 0°C (+32°F). As a practical matter, additional refrigeration is required to take water at room temperature and turn it into ice. To be specific, one ton of refrigeration capacity can freeze one short ton of water at 0°C (32°F) in 24 hours. So, a ton of refrigeration is 3.517 kW. This is derived as follows:

The latent heat of ice (also the heat of fusion) = 333.55 kJ/kg = 144 Btu/lb One short ton = 2000 lb Heat extracted = 2000 x 144/24 hr = 288000 Btu/24 hr = 12000 Btu/hr = 200 Btu/min 1 ton refrigeration = 200 Btu/min = 3.517 kJ/s = 3.517 kW = 4.713 HP A much less common definition is: 1 tonne of refrigeration is the rate of heat removal required to freeze a metric ton (1000 kg) of water at 0°C in 24 hours. Based on the heat of fusion being 333.55 kJ/kg, 1 tonne of refrigeration = 13,898 kJ/h = 3.861 kW. Thus, 1 tonne of refrigeration is 10% larger than 1 ton of refrigeration. Another unit of measure is the calorie which is the amount of heat removal required to raise or lower the temperature of one gram of water by one °C. A kilo-calorie is the amount of heat required to raise or lower 1 kg of water by 1°C. One ton of refrigeration is equal to 3024 kilo-calories per hour. This is 12,000 BTU/ h divided by 2.204 (pounds per kilogram) divided by 1.8 (°C to °F).

Most residential air conditioning units range in capacity from about 1 to 5 tons of refrigeration or 3.5 kW ~ 17.5 kW, or 12,000 Btu/h ~ 60,000 Btu/h. Large industrial chiller systems range up to 800 tons of refrigeration (2.8 MW or 9.6 million Btu/h).This 50 Ton air conditioner unit includes cooling, heating, and dehumidification functionality for emergency water removal. Portable Air is proud to offer horizontal air conditioner units to meet any temporary climate control project needs. Our entire fleet is comprised of only the most reliable, well performing units from top manufacturers such as Trane, Carrier and York. All units can be rented as individual units or as a complete “turn-key” package including complete delivery, installation, startup and required accessories. Contact one of our rental representatives today to learn more about Portable Air and the largest HVAC air conditioner rental fleet of its kind. Download Cut Sheet for more information.AIR CONDITIONING SIZE AND YEAR

What year and size is the Air Conditioning system? Let me show you how YOU the Realtor can determine that on your own.  Remember that these dates are NOT installation dates, but they are the manufacture date and typically these dates are close to each other. First let us understand “Tonnage” is: Tonnage  The unit of measure used in air conditioning to describe the cooling capacity of a system. ac unit not cooling the houseOne ton of cooling is based on the amount of heat needed to melt one ton (2000 lbs.) of ice in a 24 hour period. how do marine ac units workOne ton of cooling is equal to 12,000 Btu/hr.how much to replace central air conditioner unit This size of an Air Conditioning Unit is based up many factors, such as composition of the building, which way it faces, the number of windows, the amount of insulation.....

Basic Principals of Air Conditioning: The basic principals of the Air Conditioning System used for Florida.An AC system is used as a dual purpose.One is to allow warm air to be pulled into the system, filter this air and then flow across the cold coils and blow cold air into the building.The other purpose is to pull the humidity out of the air.This is VERY important.So with this information – BIGGER IS NOT BETTER!A house with to large an AC system will always be damp and contain that “bone chilling” cold.If in doubt call a Professional and licensed Heating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) contractor. How to determine the age and size of the AC unit: The age or manufacture date of an AC compressor is usually coded under the serial number portion of the data plate that is present on the side of the compressor (Outside AC portion of the AC system) The red boxed area is the Serial Number for this type of unit.The “L” indicates the month of the manufacture.“L” being the 12thletter of the alphabet and the ‘01” being the last 2 numbers of the year, thus meaning this is a December 2001 manufacture date.

This is the area where the data or information from above was obtained.The exterior portion of the AC system called the compressor. Congratulations on learning how to determine the age of an Air Conditioning Compressor.The air handler’s age is determined much the same way.The air handler is located within the interior of the residence most of the time it is in a closet, garage or attic area.This applies to the MAJORITY of AC units in SW Florida.Other types are present, but this will allow you to determine the age of many of the AC systems. How to determine the size (called tonnage) of an Air Conditioning system: First of all the size of an AC unit is called a ton or tonnage.A recap of tonnage is Tonnage  The unit of measure used in air conditioning to describe the cooling capacity of a system. The number to remember is 12,000 BTU’s or more simply 12.If 12,000 BTU’s is equal to 1 (one) ton of AC then 18,000 is equal to 1.5 tons and 24,000 is equal to 2 tons and so on.