How to convert tons to BTU
- Thread starter uceballos
- Start date
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- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
1 watt= 3.412 BTU
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
Here is a quote from another thread
lowryder88h said:
If you don't have all the spec's but you know the tonage, I use this rule of thumb for calc's. 1 ton = 12000 BTU
1 watt= 3.412 BTU
ex. 4 tons x 12000 BTU = 48000 BTU
48000 div by 3.412 = 14068 watts
14068 div by 240v = 58.6 amps
Its not a percise science but it will get you into the ball park.
brian john
Senior Member
- Location
- Leesburg, VA
3.412 or 3,412 boy that sure could mess up a calculation.
Well, sort of:
Well, sort of:
Let's be exact:
1 ton of cooling is equivalent to 12,000 BTU/hour
which is equivalent to melting a ton of ice over 24 hours.
It is improper to equate power to energy! You should say,
1 watt-hour (energy) = 3.412 BTU (energy)
You cannot compute current draw this way because the AC pumps heat from one area to another. This is true whether you are heating or cooling with the AC unit. If you know the S.E.E.R. rating of the unit you can compute the power input. You can then compute the current draw if you know the PF of the unit.
Do a search on S.E.E.R. for more.
Well, sort of:
Let's be exact:
1 ton of cooling is equivalent to 12,000 BTU/hour
which is equivalent to melting a ton of ice over 24 hours.
It is improper to equate power to energy! You should say,
1 watt-hour (energy) = 3.412 BTU (energy)
You cannot compute current draw this way because the AC pumps heat from one area to another. This is true whether you are heating or cooling with the AC unit. If you know the S.E.E.R. rating of the unit you can compute the power input. You can then compute the current draw if you know the PF of the unit.
Do a search on S.E.E.R. for more.
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Journeyman Electrician
4 tons, 58 amps? Something seems a little off. Generally we find that 1 ton will have a load of about 8-10 amps. I guess that this figure represents lower ampacities due to the SEER rating.
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