When calculating tons of cooling, what is the divisor typically used?

When calculating tons of cooling in the context of refrigeration and air conditioning, the divisor typically used is 12,000. This value represents the number of British Thermal Units (BTUs) required to achieve one ton of cooling. In practical terms, one ton of refrigeration is defined as the ability to remove heat equivalent to the melting of one ton of ice in a 24-hour period, which amounts to 12,000 BTUs per hour.

To put this into context, the concept of tons of cooling helps in sizing and selecting HVAC equipment, allowing professionals to determine the cooling capacity needed for specific conditions. When a system's capacity is expressed in tons, multiplying the number of tons by 12,000 gives you the equivalent cooling capacity in BTUs per hour, which is essential for understanding and comparing equipment efficiencies and performance.

Other values like 1,000, 8,000, and 10,000 do not represent the standard measurement for tons of cooling in HVAC applications, as they do not correspond with the defined relationship between tons and BTUs, making them unsuitable for this calculation.