What is the equivalent of one ton of refrigeration in BTUs per hour?

One ton of refrigeration is defined as the amount of heat absorption required to melt one ton of ice in a 24-hour period. This is a standard measure used in the refrigeration and air conditioning industries.

To break it down, one ton of refrigeration can effectively remove heat at the rate of 12,000 BTUs per hour. This is a conversion derived from the fact that melting one ton of ice (which is equal to 2,000 pounds) absorbs approximately 144 BTUs per pound, leading to a total of about 288,000 BTUs over 24 hours. When distributed over that time frame, this amounts to 12,000 BTUs per hour.

This standard conversion is critical in various applications, such as sizing air conditioning units, where understanding the cooling capacity in terms of BTUs helps professionals match equipment to the specific cooling load requirements of a space.