Need A New AC Installed? Learn About BTU

Having a new air conditioner installed can be exciting. You probably can't wait to enjoy time in your nice, cool home. But before the installers get to work, you'll need to work with them to choose an air conditioner. Doing so requires that you understand a few important terms, one of which is "BTU." You'll see this abbreviation all the time when you are shopping for an air conditioner. Here's a look at what it means and how to interpret it.

What does BTU stand for?

BTU stands for British thermal units. This is a measurement unit that denotes how much heat an air conditioner can remove from your home within one hour. If there is a 12,000 BTU air conditioner, that air conditioner can remove 12,000 units of heat from a space within the span of an hour. If you have a 5,000 BTU air conditioner, it can remove 5,000 units of heat per hour. So, the higher the BTU, the more "powerful" the air conditioner is.

How many BTU does an air conditioner need?

There is no specific level of BTU that an air conditioner needs to be considered a "good" air conditioner. Rather, the BTU you need depends largely on the size of your home. The larger your home, the more powerful your air conditioner will need to be – so the more BTU you will need.

A good general guideline is that you need 20 BTU for every square foot of space. So, for example, a 2,000-square-foot home will need an air conditioner offering about 34,000 BTU of cooling power.

What other factors affect the BTU you need?

If you ask your air conditioning contractor what size air conditioner you need, they might give you a slightly different answer than you'd get by simply multiplying your square footage by 20. This is because a few factors other than size also impact the power you need from an air conditioner. One of them is shade. If your home is shaded, it won't get as hot, so you will not need as much cooling power. If your home is really well insulated, then you might not need as much cooling power, either.

Now that you have a better understanding of BTU, you should have an easier time picking the right air conditioner to install. Talk to your heating and air conditioning contractor for more insight and helpful guidance. 

For more info, contact a local company like STA SO COOL HVAC.