HVAC & Refrigeration
Refrigeration Tons ⇌ kW / BTU
Convert refrigeration capacity between tons, kW and BTU/hr using the standard, exact definition: 1 ton of refrigeration = 12,000 BTU/hr = 3.5168 kW.
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About This Calculation
A ton of refrigeration is a historical unit still in everyday HVAC and industrial refrigeration use — defined as the cooling rate needed to freeze one short ton (2000 lb) of water into ice over 24 hours, which works out to a fixed, precisely defined power equivalent. This calculator converts between tons of refrigeration and standard power units (kW, BTU/hr), a routine but easy-to-get-wrong conversion given the unit's historical (non-metric) origin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does refrigeration capacity still use "tons" instead of just kW or BTU/hr?
It’s a historical holdover from the ice-manufacturing industry that predates modern mechanical refrigeration — the unit stuck around in HVAC and refrigeration equipment nameplates and industry convention even after the underlying technology moved entirely away from actually producing ice, similar to how horsepower persists for engines despite watts being the SI unit.
What is the exact conversion factor between tons of refrigeration and kW?
1 ton of refrigeration equals exactly 3.5168 kW (or 12,000 BTU/hr) — derived directly from the latent heat of fusion of water and the defining 2000 lb over 24 hours basis, which is why it’s a fixed, exact conversion rather than an approximate or context-dependent one.
Does "tons of refrigeration" describe electrical input power or actual cooling capacity?
It describes COOLING CAPACITY (heat removed from the space), not electrical input power to the refrigeration equipment — the ratio between the two is the system’s coefficient of performance (COP) or energy efficiency ratio (EER), which is always a separate, additional specification beyond the tonnage rating itself.