Remember! 3 Steps to Calculate Central Air - conditioner Cooling Capacity

2025-02-16

Cooling capacity refers to the total amount of heat removed per unit time from an enclosed space, room, or area during the refrigeration operation of a central air - conditioner. The legal unit of measurement is W (watt).

The so - called "horsepower" originally refers to the input power, including the compressor, fan motor, and electrical control components. The cooling capacity is calculated based on the output power. So, do you know how to calculate the cooling capacity of a central air - conditioner? In fact, it only takes three steps.

Calculate the actual required cooling capacity. Calculate based on the practical area of the room (the carpet area; if there is a floor - to - ceiling cabinet, the corresponding floor area can be deducted). It is 150 watts per square meter. If it is on the top floor or has western exposure, calculate at 200 watts per square meter. If there is a western window or it is both on the top floor and has western exposure, it should be at least 250 watts per square meter.
If there is a western window and it is on the top floor, it should be at least 300 watts per square meter. It's better to have more rather than less.
After calculating the actual cooling capacity, convert it into the nominal cooling capacity indicated on the air - conditioner product. Generally, the cooling capacity of a 1 - horsepower household central air - conditioner is approximately 2000 kilocalories. To convert it into international units, multiply by 1.162. So, the cooling capacity of 1 horsepower is 2000 kilocalories × 1.
162 = 2324 (W - representing cooling capacity). And so on. Based on this calculation method, the horsepower and cooling capacity of the air - conditioner can be roughly determined. Under normal circumstances, 2200W - 2600W can all be called 1 horsepower, 4500 (W) - 5100 (W) can be called 2 horsepower, and 3200W - 3600W can be called 1.5 horsepower.
Once the cooling capacity is determined, estimate the cooling capacity according to the actual situation and select a suitable air - conditioner.
Household appliances consume a large part of the cooling capacity. Each watt (W) of power from a TV, lamp, refrigerator, etc. consumes 1 watt (W) of cooling capacity. The direction and size of doors and windows, as well as the number of people in the household, etc., will all consume a certain amount of cooling capacity. For example, for an east - facing window, it's 150W/m², for a west - facing window, it's 280W/m², for a south - facing window, it's 180W/m², for a north - facing window, it's 100W/m². If it's on the rooftop, consider appropriately increasing the cooling capacity.

Normally, a 1 - horsepower air - conditioner is suitable for an area of 10 - 15 square meters, a 1.25 - horsepower one for 10 - 19 square meters, a 1.5 - horsepower one for 16 - 26 square meters, a 1.7 - horsepower one for 15 - 30 square meters, a 2 - horsepower one for 20 - 37 square meters, and a 3 - horsepower one for 30 - 58 square meters.