Portable Air Conditioner Btu Meaning

1 does such an air conditioner actually draw 15 amps.

Portable air conditioner btu meaning.

Btus or british thermal units are the standard unit of measurement for the cooling power of an air conditioner. The required cooling capacity for a room air conditioner depends on the size of the room being cooled room air conditioners generally have cooling capacities that range from 5 500 btu per hour to 14 000 btu per hour. Instead of heating air conditioners remove heat from the air and circulates cool air back in. Department of energy doe created a revised method for measuring the cooling power of portable a cs.

If you ve ever shopped for a portable air conditioner or a space heater you ve probably noticed tucked among a long list of numbers and abbreviations on the spec sheet three specific little letters everywhere you look. For single hose portables the difference is often around 50 lower for the sacc rating. Using a portable air conditioner with a btu level higher than needed can cause the unit to cool quickly cycle off and then to maintain your desired temperature have to cycle on again soon after. The average person doesn t use this acronym much in daily life so it can be a little confusing to see it pop up everywhere you turn when you re thinking about.

By cycling on and off in such fitful spurts of time your portable air conditioner s compressor will quickly over work itself. How to calculate how many btu s you need. Therefor a 13 000 btu wall ac is much much more effective at cooling a room than a 13 000 btu portable ac. Use the dropdowns below to help you estimate what size air conditioner is best for your space.

A common rating term for air conditioning size is the ton which is 12 000 btu per hour. A btu is an expression of the amount of energy needed to raise 1 pound of water by 1 degree fahrenheit while at sea level. Btus still work as a form of measurement in this case. We ve rated and measured our units against a number of different room and or home conditions that can effect the cooling power required.

Btu stands for british thermal unit. The ones i ve looked at require 110 volt line and the labels on the packing require 15 amp circuit breakers. What do they mean for an air conditioner though. I m looking for a small 5000 to 7500 btu portable air conditioner for a cabana with a room 8 by 10.

The higher the btu rating the faster the unit can cool down a room. A more accurate comparison is between the wall unit ashrae btu rating and the portable units doe sacc btu rating. A few years ago the u s.