Enter the specific heat, mass flow rate, and temperature delta into the calculator to determine the cooling capacity.

Cooling Capacity Formula

The following formula is used to calculate a cooling capacity of a chiller. 

Q = m' * Cp * ΔT 
  • Where Q is the cooling capacity (kW)
  • m’ is the mass flow rate of the chilled water (kg/s)
  • Cp is the specific heat of the water (kJ/kg/K)
  • ΔT is the change in temperature of the water at the inlet and outlet (K or C)

To calculate the cooling capacity, multiply the mass flow rate of the water by the specific heat of the water and the change in temperature.

Cooling Capacity Definition

A cooling capacity is defined as the rate of cooling as measured in energy per time of a chiller or cooling apparatus.

Example Problem

How to calculate cooling capacity?

In this example, we will look at a chiller used to provide cold water to an air conditioning unit.

First, determine the mass flow rate of the water through the chiller. In this case, the mass flow rate is calculated using the volumetric flow rate and density. This is found to be 95kg/s.

Next, determine the specific heat of the water. The specific heat capacity is slightly temperature-dependent, but to simplify we will use 4.189 kJ/kg/K for this problem.

Next, determine the change to temperature, or ΔT. The inlet temperature is found to be 50C and the outlet temperature is 20C.

Finally, using the formula above, the cooling capacity can be calculated as:

Q=m’*Cp*ΔT 

= 95*4.189*(50-20)

= 11938.75 kW of cooling capacity.