When you purchase an AC, the first factor you consider is Its tonnage. In AC lingo, the industry uses BTU and tons. So let us understand how to convert BTU into tons using this simple calculator.
- BTU – British Thermal Units
- Ton – AC Capacity
Convert BTU to Tons Calculator
This simple calculator can help convert BTUs to ton of refrigeration. Moreover, the calculator is simple to use. For example, if you wish to know how much ton is 24,000 BTU, you can input the figure 24,000 to get the answer as 2 tons.
Thus, it would be easy for you to perform reverse calculations.
For example,
- How many BTUs is one ton – Answer 12,000 BTU
- How many BTUs is 4-ton – Answer 48,000 BTU
- What ton is 24000 BTU – Answer 2-tons
- How many BTUs are there in 1.5-ton AC – Answer – 18,000 BTU
- How many BTUs are there in 1-ton AC – Answer – 12,000 BTU
This table should make it simple to understand the BTU to tons conversion for AC.
| Tonnage | BTU |
| 1 ton to BTU | 12,000 BTU |
| 1.5 ton to BTU | 18,000 BTU |
| 2 ton to BTU | 24,000 BTU |
| 2.5 ton to BTU | 30,000 BTU |
| 3 ton to BTU | 36,000 BTU |
| 4 ton to BTU | 48,000 BTU |
| 5 ton to BTU | 60,000 BTU |
| 6 ton to BTU | 72,000 BTU |
| 7 ton to BTU | 84,000 BTU |
| 8 ton to BTU | 96,000 BTU |
BTU to ton of refrigeration calculator explained
As a rule, 1 ton is equal to 12,000 BTU.
So, if you want to calculate how many BTUs are there in a 1.5 ton AC, the answer is simple, 12,000 x 1.5 = 18,000 BTU
Similarly, 2.5 ton to BTU is 12,000 x 2.5 = 30,000 BTU
The reverse calculation is also easy. It is the BTU to tons conversion for AC
12,000 BTU equals 1 ton.
So, 6,000 BTU = 6,000 / 12,000 = 0.5 tons
24,000 BTU = 24,000 / 12,000 = 2 tons
We have understood how to calculate tons from BTU and vice-versa. First, however, one should understand the theoretical and historical concepts of BTU and ton.
BTU – British Thermal Unit
The scientific definition of BTU is the amount of heat necessary to increase the temperature of one pound water by one degree Fahrenheit.
However, the BTU/hour unit is not a widely used unit of heat anymore. Instead, most countries have adopted the metric of the SI system where we use Watts/hour or Kilowatts/hour to describe heat energy.
Refrigerator Ton
The term Refrigerator Ton is generally used in North America. It has nothing to do with the weight of the machine. Instead, it denotes the cooling capacity or the amount of cooling a machine can produce.
The history of the origin of the word ‘ton’ is fascinating. In the late 19th century, US factories used blocks of ice to provide cooling. They used to order ice by the ton. These blocks were placed directly in front of the warmer/air blower that supplied air to melt the ice. Thus, the air flowing towards the building became cool. One ton of ice provided one ton of cooling.
Thus, the concept of refrigerator ton came into being.
One refrigerator ton equals the amount of heat required to be removed from one ton of water to convert to ice in 24 hours.
However, one should understand that it is a latent heat calculation, meaning that the water should be at Zero degrees Celsius. After conversion, the ice will also be at Zero degrees Celsius. If the water were at room temperature, you would need to remove more heat to bring the water to zero degrees Celsius.
A quick recap
We have explained the BTU to ton conversion by using a BTU to ton calculator. Here are some simple questions that could help recapture whatever we have discussed above.
- How many BTUs in a ton – Answer – 12,000 BTU
- How many BTUs are 2 tons – Answer – 24,000 BTU
- How many BTUs is 2.5 ton – Answer – 30,000 BTU
- How many BTUs are 5 tons – Answer – 60,000 BTU
- How many BTU is a 3 ton Air Conditioner unit – Answer – 36,000 BTU
With these calculations, we trust the concepts of BTU and ton are clear.