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Convert Tons of refrigeration to BTU per hour

1 ton of refrigeration is 12,000 BTU/h. One ton of refrigeration is exactly 12000 BTU per hour.

One ton of refrigeration is 12000 BTU per hour. To convert tons of refrigeration to BTU per hour, multiply by 12000; to go the other way, divide by 12000 or multiply by 8.3333 × 10^-5. The factor is exact rather than rounded: it follows from NIST Special Publication 811.

Factor checked against the defining standard · How we check

BTU per hour
12,000 BTU/h
Tons of refrigeration × 12000
1 * 1200012,000 BTU/h

1 ton of refrigeration in every power unit

1 ton of refrigeration expressed in every power unit
UnitValueExact factor
horsepower4.716177347 hp× 4.71617734707
metric horsepower4.781589149 PS× 4.78158914895
watts3,516.852842 W× 3,516.85284207
kilowatts3.516852842 kW× 3.51685284207
milliwatts3,516,852.842 mW× 3,516,852.84207
megawatts0.003516852842 MW× 0.00351685284207
tons of refrigeration (as entered)1 TR—
BTU per hour12,000 BTU/h× 12,000

Factors are entered by hand from NIST Special Publication 811 rather than derived from a units library, so the ones that terminate are exact rather than rounded.

How do you convert tons of refrigeration to BTU per hour? The converter and the working

  1. 1.Take the measurement in tons of refrigeration.
  2. 2.Multiply by 12000 — that is how many BTU per hour fit in one ton of refrigeration.
  3. 3.To go back the other way, divide by 12000, or multiply by 8.3333 × 10^-5.

Worked example: 25 tons of refrigeration to BTU per hour

Formula
TR × 12000 = BTU/h
Arithmetic
25 × 12000 = 300,000 BTU/h
Answer
25 TR = 300,000 BTU/h

The factor is exact, so this figure is exact too — only the display is rounded.

Tons of refrigeration to BTU per hour conversion table

Tons of refrigeration to BTU per hour conversion table
Tons of refrigerationBTU per hour
1 TR12,000 BTU/h
2 TR24,000 BTU/h
3 TR36,000 BTU/h
4 TR48,000 BTU/h
5 TR60,000 BTU/h
6 TR72,000 BTU/h
7 TR84,000 BTU/h
8 TR96,000 BTU/h
9 TR108,000 BTU/h
10 TR120,000 BTU/h
12 TR144,000 BTU/h
15 TR180,000 BTU/h
20 TR240,000 BTU/h
25 TR300,000 BTU/h
50 TR600,000 BTU/h
100 TR1,200,000 BTU/h
200 TR2,400,000 BTU/h
300 TR3,600,000 BTU/h
500 TR6,000,000 BTU/h
1000 TR12,000,000 BTU/h
2000 TR24,000,000 BTU/h
5000 TR60,000,000 BTU/h
10000 TR120,000,000 BTU/h

A ton of cooling is a ton of ice, melted over a day

One ton of refrigeration is exactly 12,000 BTU an hour — the rate at which a short ton of ice absorbs heat as it melts over 24 hours, which is how cooling was sold before it was made electrically. A three-ton domestic unit is 36,000 BTU/h or 10.5 kW of heat moved, and it has nothing to do with the weight of the equipment.

NIST Special Publication 811 — Guide for the Use of the International System of Units

What is a ton of refrigeration?

Exactly 12,000 BTU an hour — the rate at which a short ton of ice melts over a day, which is what air conditioning was measured against before it was made electrically. A three-ton domestic unit is 36,000 BTU/h, or 10.5 kW.

What is a BTU per hour?

The rate US heating and air conditioning is sold in. A 12,000 BTU/h unit is one "ton" of cooling and about 3.5 kilowatts of heat moved.

How many BTU per hour are in a ton of refrigeration?

One ton of refrigeration is 12000 BTU per hour, exactly. Going the other way, one BTU per hour is 8.3333 × 10^-5 tons of refrigeration. Both figures come from the same defined relation rather than from a measurement, which is why they are the same today as they were in 1959.

Every power unit here

The whole group — 8 units with their symbols and the size of each one in watts — is on the conversion index, along with every pair it makes. The table above already gives each of them relative to a ton of refrigeration.

Source: NIST Special Publication 811 — mechanical horsepower is 550 ft·lbf/s exactly

Cite this page

APA
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MLA
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Rule Calculator. "Convert Tons of refrigeration to BTU per hour." Rule Calculator. Last reviewed August 16, 2026. https://rulecalculators.com/convert/ton-of-refrigeration-to-btu-per-hour.

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Questions people actually ask

How many BTU per hour are in a ton of refrigeration?
12000. The rate US heating and air conditioning is sold in. A 12,000 BTU/h unit is one "ton" of cooling and about 3.5 kilowatts of heat moved.
How do I convert BTU per hour back to tons of refrigeration?
Divide by 12000, or multiply by 8.3333 × 10^-5 — they are the same operation.

Other power conversions

BTU per hour to tons of refrigeration — the same conversion the other way.

Calculators that work in power