The British Thermal Unit, which is also known as BTU, is a unit of measurement that signifies energy. It is roughly equivalent to the quantity of energy required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by 1°F. The imperial unit of heat energy gives 1 BTU = 1,055 joules, 252 calories, 0.293 watt-hours or energy needed to ignite one match. One watt is rough 3.412 BTUs in one hour.
Such units as BTUs and DEJs are widely used for and to declare various fuels, its BTU as an energy content unit bases on physical quantities of fuels such as oil and gas even if they are not. For example, oil is not physically or metaphorically a barrel, but because of oil and gas consumption there are always BTU or energy equivalents that can be provided. BTU as an energy unit is more effective than a physical volume as every fuel is treated as energy source. which makes it possible to evaluate any variance of fuel gases and oil.
The BTU is also an alternative useable measure in reference to the degree of heat that an appliance produces in a more practical way. Therefore, the greater the rating, the better the unit is expected to heat. Turning to air conditioning in a household, although the AC units are to reduce the temperature of the house, the number of BTUs indicated on the technical label represents the heat energy a given Air Conditioning unit can extract from the surrounding air.
To be expected, the lesser the room size the lesser the BTUs required to cool/heat the space. For the most part, BTU consumption is determined by the cubic volume of the space in question.
The further below is a very approximate value of the total cooling capacity that would be required from a cooling system in order to simply cool a room/a house by its area, provided such estimate is posted on energystar.gov
Area To Be Cooled (square feet) Capacity Needed (BTUs per hour) Insulation Condition Thermal insulation is defined as the reduction of heat transfer between objects that are in mutual thermal contact or in radiative influence range. The relevance of insulation is it able to reduce the BTUs incurred while addressing the heat loss, which is an inherent tendency of heat to move from areas of relatively hot air to those of cool ambient temperature until the two are almost at the same temperature. It is well known that because of all the modern developments and improvements in building standards, recently built houses are better insulated than older ones. Owners of older homes with dated insulation deciding to upgrade their insulation do not only enjoy lower utility bills but also are likely to experience an increase in the worth of their property. The thermal resistivity of a material, which is the ability of the material to resist the flow of heat is expressed as the R-value. If a certain material has a higher R-value, then that material would be a poor conductor of heat. In recommends that the lower retrofitting means the changing of the materials and other factors for construction of a particular house to meet real-estate home industry modern revolution demands the levels of the R-value are rated. People shopping for rebuilding insulation wants that materials with high R-values must be the ones that are purchased but these materials tend to be expensive.
When choosing the appropriate value for the “insulation condition” field in the calculator, make broad considerations. Am example of a beach bungalow built in the 18th century, there are no renovations on site; this should be rated as poor accessibility. As for a home that is 3 years old and is located within a new community, that is a good rating. Because walls are generally better thermally resistant than windows, it is expected that more windows will cause more heat loss. So normally, a room with ignorant of the number of windows is infer therefore the heat losses will be high. Where possible use/assume double- glazed windows.
To get the desired line of whom putting into the calculator selects, it is the margin that occurs between the unrevised outdoor temperature and the mentioned temperature. For most unoccupied places the housing temperature is usually around 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit and above many people are comfortable.
For instance, if seasons change, the home owner will be, in this case, located in Atlanta, and BTU usage during winter will have to be determined. Winter in Atlanta is around 45°F but even during that period, the temperatures tend to plummet down to as low as 30°F on some occasions. Since the intending occupants of the facility have indicated a desire to be maintained in a constant temperature of 75°F, then the maximum temperatur increase would be 75°F – 30°F = 45°F.
For homes in regions with more extreme climatic conditions, it is common for there to be variations in temperature resulting in larger usage of BTU. For example, it is more expensive through BTU to heat a house in Alaska in winter or to air-condition a house in summer in Houston than to heat or cool a house in Hawaii where the climate is about 80F all year around.
Unsurprisingly, a smaller room requires fewer BTUs to cool/heat. Typically, BTU usage is measured based on the volume of the space.referrence Site calculator.net
| Area To Be Cooled (square feet) | Capacity Needed (BTUs per hour) |
| 100 to 150 | 5,000 |
| 150 to 250 | 6,000 |
| 250 to 300 | 7,000 |
| 300 to 350 | 8,000 |
| 350 to 400 | 9,000 |
| 400 to 450 | 10,000 |
| 450 to 550 | 12,000 |
| 550 to 700 | 14,000 |
| 700 to 1000 | 18,000 |
| 1000 to 1200 | 21,000 |
| 1200 to 1400 | 23,000 |
| 1400 to 1500 | 24,000 |
| 1500 to 2000 | 30,000 |
| 2000 to 2500 | 34,000 |
Along with the factors discussed above and their effect on BTU usage, there are other factors to keep in mind:
Number of Residents. Heat emanates from a person’s body into the outside environment so as the number of people increases more BTUs are required to make the room cold and less BTUs are used to make the room warm.
Placement of the air conditioning unit. As a rule of thumb, the air conditioner condenser should be sited in the side of the house that receives the least sunlight (most preferably the north and east). The more direct sunshine reaches the condenser, more will be the load of the appliance for working since ambient air will be hotter consuming more BTUs. This practice will not only help in making the equipment more effective if placed in a relatively shady spot, but it will also prolong its useful life. There are some trees which can be planted around the condenser to shade it more. However, it is also important to remember that condensers need to be surrounded by abundant airflow in order to work the most efficiently. Make sure that the adjoining plants do not threaten the performance of the condenser by blocking the input air supply to the unit.
Dimensions of air conditioning unit/condenser. Very high volume units come up with very rapid cooling to the homes. Therefore, they can’t execute the defined cycles which they were made to perform. This condition may affect the life expectancy of the air conditioning unit. On the other hand, when the unit is not properly matched with the room specifications and is too small it will be functional for a greater part of the day.
Ceiling fan usage. In terms of reducing BTU consumption, ceiling fans can be quite useful as they enhance air movement. If any home or room may be said to have one, so called dead spots, that is those zones on which airflow is inhibited to a dedicated extent by the architectural design. This may be the last corner behind the couch in the living room or bathrooms that lack vents and have a single large window or laundry rooms. Such thermostats on the dead zones can register a false manipulation of indoor temperatures of homes. So running fans can really run for the purpose of bringing all the temperatures of all the zones of a room or the house into equilibrium.
The color of the roof. The temperature of the dark materials tends to be higher compared to that of the light materials because a greater amount of radiant energy is contained within dark materials’ surfaces than lighter materials. Even dirty white roofs (of a very dirty and rather white variety) as compared to new, clean surfaces can help produce fewer or more noticeable effects.
Decreasing efficiency over the life of the heater or air conditioner. Common with many appliances, a heater or air conditioner gets less and less efficient when it has been in operation for a period of time. It is not strange to find that an air conditioner has lost more than 50% of its capacity when it is in operation, especially if running in a liquid refrigerant deficient condition.
Shape of the home. Despite having the same square footage as a square house, a long narrow house has more walls, hence more heat escape.
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