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Area to AC Calculator

Determine the cooling capacity your room needs. Enter the room dimensions and environmental conditions to calculate the required BTU, Tons, Horsepower (HP), and kilowatts (kW) of your air conditioner.

Room & Area Details

Each additional person adds 500 BTU/hr of load.

Recommended AC Capacity

Cooling Capacity
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BTU / hour
Tons of AC
--
Tons of refrigeration
Horsepower (HP)
--
Cooling HP equivalent
Power Cooling (kW)
--
kW cooling capacity

Standard AC Size Recommendation:

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AC Capacity Calculation Formula

We use the standard thermodynamic cooling load estimation formula:

Required BTU/hr = [Area (sqft) × Base Factor × Height Multiplier] + [Extra People × 500 BTU/hr]

Base Factor: Determined by sunlight exposure (Shaded = 17, Normal = 20, Sunny = 24, Kitchen = 30).

Area conversion: If input is in square meters, we multiply by 10.764 to convert to square feet.

Ceiling height multiplier: Standard is 8ft. For every 2ft added, capacity factor increases by 10% (10ft = 1.1x, 12ft = 1.2x, 14ft = 1.3x).

AC Conversions: • Tons = BTU/hr ÷ 12,000 (1 Ton removes 12,000 BTU of heat per hour) • HP = BTU/hr ÷ 9,000 (1 Horsepower cooling is roughly 9,000 BTU/hr) • kW = BTU/hr ÷ 3,412 (1 kW = 3,412 BTU/hr)

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How to use Area to AC Calculator

  1. Select your unit system (meters or feet) and enter your room's width and length.
  2. Enter the average ceiling height and select the room's sunlight exposure level.
  3. Read the calculated cooling requirements in BTU, Tons, HP, and kW instantly.

What is Area to AC Calculator?

An Area to AC power calculator estimates the cooling load required to keep a room comfortable. Cooling requirements depend on room area, ceiling height, climate, and heat sources like solar radiation through windows. Having an accurately sized air conditioner prevents high power bills (from oversized units cycling on/off) or insufficient cooling (from undersized units running continuously).

This tool calculates the base BTU load from room volume and adjusts it for sunlight exposure. It then converts BTUs to AC tonnage, Horsepower, and thermal kilowatts so you can easily shop for the correct model.

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FAQ

What is a BTU in cooling?
BTU stands for British Thermal Unit. In air conditioning, it measures the amount of heat energy the unit can remove from a room per hour.
How many BTUs are in a Ton of air conditioning?
One Ton of cooling is equivalent to 12,005 BTUs per hour. This is historically based on the cooling power of one ton of ice melting over 24 hours.
How does ceiling height affect AC capacity?
Higher ceilings mean more air volume that needs to be cooled. Our calculator uses room volume instead of just floor area to ensure accurate estimates for high ceilings.

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