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Convert Tons of refrigeration to Watts

1 ton of refrigeration is 3,516.85 W. One ton of refrigeration is exactly 3516.85284207 watts.

One ton of refrigeration is 3516.8528 watts. To convert tons of refrigeration to watts, multiply by 3516.8528; to go the other way, divide by 3516.8528 or multiply by 2.8435 × 10^-4. The relation is exact but the figure is not: it is a rounding of a number that does not terminate, and it follows from NIST Special Publication 811.

Factor checked against the defining standard · How we check

Watts
3,516.85 W
Tons of refrigeration × 3516.8528
1 * 3516.85283,516.853 W

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 watts? The converter and the working

  1. 1.Take the measurement in tons of refrigeration.
  2. 2.Multiply by 3516.8528 — that is how many watts fit in one ton of refrigeration.
  3. 3.To go back the other way, divide by 3516.8528, or multiply by 2.8435 × 10^-4.

Worked example: 25 tons of refrigeration to watts

Formula
TR × 3516.8528 = W
Arithmetic
25 × 3516.8528 = 87,921.32 W
Answer
25 TR = 87,921.32 W

The factor is rounded for display; the figure above is computed from the full value.

Tons of refrigeration to watts conversion table

Tons of refrigeration to watts conversion table
Tons of refrigerationWatts
1 TR3,516.85 W
2 TR7,033.71 W
3 TR10,550.56 W
4 TR14,067.41 W
5 TR17,584.26 W
6 TR21,101.12 W
7 TR24,617.97 W
8 TR28,134.82 W
9 TR31,651.68 W
10 TR35,168.53 W
12 TR42,202.23 W
15 TR52,752.79 W
20 TR70,337.06 W
25 TR87,921.32 W
50 TR175,842.64 W
100 TR351,685.28 W
200 TR703,370.57 W
300 TR1,055,055.85 W
500 TR1,758,426.42 W
1000 TR3,516,852.84 W
2000 TR7,033,705.68 W
5000 TR17,584,264.21 W
10000 TR35,168,528.42 W

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 watt?

The SI unit: one joule every second. A watt is a rate, not an amount, which is the distinction between it and the watt-hour on your electricity bill.

How many watts are in a ton of refrigeration?

One ton of refrigeration is 3516.8528 watts. Going the other way, one watt is 2.8435 × 10^-4 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
Rule Calculator. (2026). Convert Tons of refrigeration to watts. Rule Calculator. https://rulecalculators.com/convert/ton-of-refrigeration-to-watt
MLA
"Convert Tons of refrigeration to watts." Rule Calculator, August 16, 2026, https://rulecalculators.com/convert/ton-of-refrigeration-to-watt.
Chicago
Rule Calculator. "Convert Tons of refrigeration to watts." Rule Calculator. Last reviewed August 16, 2026. https://rulecalculators.com/convert/ton-of-refrigeration-to-watt.

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Questions people actually ask

How many watts are in a ton of refrigeration?
3516.8528. The SI unit: one joule every second. A watt is a rate, not an amount, which is the distinction between it and the watt-hour on your electricity bill.
How do I convert watts back to tons of refrigeration?
Divide by 3516.8528, or multiply by 2.8435 × 10^-4 — they are the same operation.

Other power conversions

Watts to tons of refrigeration — the same conversion the other way.

Calculators that work in power