The term "Tons" in Air Conditioning...!!!

Many people wonder what is this Tons in Air Conditioning, like you hear them say they have got a 1.5 Ton AC installed in their room...
It's often funny when someone says that "Tons in Air Conditioning is actually Weight of that A.C unit..."

People usually argue about it... and prove this with stupid examples that Ton is a unit of weight and like.

The term TON is actually referred to the cooling capacity of that A.C.

Proper definition is:

TON:

The unit of measurement for air conditioning system capacity. One ton of air conditioning removes 12,000 BTU's [British Thermal Unit] of heat energy per hour from a home. Central air conditioners are sized in tons. Residential units usually range from 1 to 5 tons.

And

... A "ton" is defined as the cooling capacity of one ton US (2000 pounds or 907 kilograms) of ice melting in a 24-hour period. This is equal to 12,000 BTU per hour, or 3.5 kilowatts. Residential central refrigeration cycle air conditioners can be 1 to 5 tons (3.5 to 17.5 kW).

So that's a little piece of knowledge...

:-)

[Ref: http://www.acdoctor.com/air_conditioning/glossary.htm]

http://www.answers.com/topic/air-conditioning]

[Originally written on June 22, 2005]

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