Enter the room area, insulation quality, number of windows, and number of occupants into the calculator to determine the estimated cooling capacity.
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Cooling Capacity Estimation
This calculator estimates the cooling capacity needed for a space using a simplified approach. The calculator uses the following assumptions:
- A base cooling load of 20 BTU/hr per ft² of room area
- An insulation adjustment:
- Good = -10% load
- Average = no adjustment
- Poor = +10% load
- Each window adds 1,000 BTU/hr
- Each occupant adds 400 BTU/hr
The estimated total cooling capacity is provided in BTU/hr and tons (1 ton = 12,000 BTU/hr) by the calculator.
Example Calculation
How to estimate cooling capacity:
For example, if you have a room area of 500 ft² with average insulation, 3 windows, and 2 occupants:
Base load = 500 ft² × 20 BTU/hr = 10,000 BTU/hr
Adjusted for insulation (average = no change): 10,000 BTU/hr
Additional load = (3 × 1,000) + (2 × 400) = 3,000 + 800 = 3,800 BTU/hr
Total Cooling Capacity = 10,000 + 3,800 = 13,800 BTU/hr
Convert to tons: 13,800 BTU/hr ÷ 12,000 ≈ 1.15 tons
