A unit of cooling capacity for HVAC systems, equal to 12,000 BTUs per hour.
In HVAC and mechanical engineering, a ton is a unit of cooling capacity equal to 12,000 British Thermal Units (BTUs) per hour. The term derives from the amount of heat required to melt one ton of ice in 24 hours. Air conditioning equipment—chillers, cooling towers, rooftop units, and split systems—is sized and specified in tons of cooling, and building cooling loads are calculated in tons to select appropriately sized equipment.
The mechanical engineer selects a 150-ton chiller to serve the office building's calculated peak cooling load of 140 tons, providing a 7% safety margin.
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