The Difference Between Pounds Of Refrigerant And Tons Of Cooling Capacity

The amount of refrigerant used in an HVAC system is typically measured in pounds. However, the cooling capacity of an HVAC system is measured in tons. The term “ton” refers to the amount of heat removed by an air conditioning system that would melt 1 ton (2000 lbs.) of ice in 24 hours.

The cooling capacity of an HVAC system is determined by the amount of heat it can remove from a space in one hour. This is measured in British Thermal Units (BTUs) per hour. One ton of cooling capacity is equivalent to 12,000 BTUs per hour.

To calculate the weight of refrigerant per ton, you can divide the total refrigerant charge weight by the unit capacity. For example, most commercial HVAC systems use between 4 and 5 pounds of refrigerant per ton of cooling capacity. A typical residential air conditioner uses about 20 pounds of refrigerant, which means that for every ton of cooling capacity, your AC unit uses 2 pounds of refrigerant.

Different refrigerants have different weights. The weight of a refrigerant is determined by its molecular structure and the number of atoms it contains. For example, the molecular weight of R-22 refrigerant is 86.47 g/mol, while the molecular weight of R-134a refrigerant is 102.03 g/mol.