BTUH is a measure of how much heat an air conditioner can remove from a room in a given hour. Larger units will be able to cool a larger room at a faster rate, but cost more upfront and use more energy to operate. A unit that is too small however will have a low BTUH and won’t be able to effectively keep the room at the right temperature. The most popular AC unit size is 2.5 tons, but your HVAC technician may recommend a larger size depending on the size of your home.

HOW IS BTUH MEASURED?

BTUH stands for British Thermal Units per Hour. A British thermal unit is an internationally used measure of energy. It measures how much heat is needed to raise one pound of water by one degree fahrenheit. The heat extracted from your home by an air conditioner is measured in BTUs, while cooling and heating capacities are referred to in British Thermal Units per hour. For reference, 12,000 BTUh equals one ton of cooling.