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BTU Calculator
AC BTU Calculator
Use this calculator to estimate the cooling needs of a
typical room or house, such as finding out the power of
a window air conditioner needed for an apartment room
or the central air conditioner for an entire house.

Result

9,050 BTU or 2,652 Watts

Size
14 square meters

Room Ceiling Height

3 meters

Number of People Inside Regularly

2

Type
Bedroom

Insulation Condition
Poor (many leakages or windows)

Sun Exposure
Very sunny

Climate
Hot (e.g. Houston)

Calculate Clear

General Purpose AC or Heating BTU

Calculator
This is a general purpose calculator that helps estimate
the BTUs required to heat or cool an area. The desired
temperature change is the necessary
increase/decrease from outdoor temperature to reach
the desired indoor temperature. As an example, an
unheated Boston home during winter could reach
temperatures as low as -5°F. To reach a temperature of
75°F, it requires a desired temperature increase of
80°F. This calculator can only gauge rough estimates.

Room/House Width
5 meters

Room/House Length
5 meters

Ceiling Height
3 meters

Insulation Condition
normal

Desired Temperature Increase or Decrease

25 Celsius
e.g. 75°F for Boston winter, 45°F for Atlanta winter.

Calculate Clear

What is a BTU?

The British Thermal Unit, or BTU, is an energy unit. It is

approximately the energy needed to heat one pound of
water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. 1 BTU = 1,055 joules,
252 calories, 0.293 watt-hours, or the energy released
by burning one match. 1 watt is approximately 3.412
BTU per hour.
BTU is often used as a point of reference for
comparing different fuels. Even though they're physical
commodities and are quantified accordingly, such as by
volume or barrels, they can be converted to BTUs
depending on the energy or heat content inherent in
each quantity. BTU as a unit of measurement is more
useful than physical quantity because of fuel's intrinsic
value as an energy source. This allows many different
commodities with intrinsic energy properties, such as
natural gas and oil, to be compared and contrasted.
BTU can also be used pragmatically as a point of
reference for the amount of heat that an appliance
generates; the higher the BTU rating of an appliance,
the greater the heating capacity. As for air conditioning
in homes, even though ACs are meant to cool homes,
BTUs on the technical label refer to how much heat the
air conditioner can remove from their respective
surrounding air.

Size and Ceiling Height

Unsurprisingly, a smaller room requires fewer BTUs to

cool/heat. Typically, BTU usage is measured based on
the volume of the space.
The following is a rough estimation of the cooling
capacity a cooling system would need to effectively
cool a room/house based only on the square footage of
the room/house, as provided by EnergyStar.gov.

Area To Be Cooled Capacity Needed (BTUs

(square feet) 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 1,000 18,000
1,000 to 1,200 21,000
1,200 to 1,400 23,000
1,400 to 1,500 24,000
1,500 to 2,000 30,000
2,000 to 2,500 34,000

Insulation Condition

Thermal insulation is defined as the reduction of heat

transfer between objects in thermal contact or in the
range of radiative influence. The importance of
insulation lies in its ability to lower BTU usage by
managing the loss of heat due to its entropic nature –
heat tends to flow from areas of warmer air to cooler air
until there is no longer a difference in temperature
between the adjacent areas.
Generally, newer homes have better insulating ability
than older homes due to technological advances as
well as stricter building codes. Owners of older homes
with dated insulation who decide to upgrade their
insulation may not only benefit from lower utility bills,
but may also see an appreciation in the value of their
homes.
Thermal resistance, which is a measure of a material's
resistance to heat flow, is indicated by a material's R-
value. The higher the R-value of a certain material, the
more resistant it is to heat transfer. In other words,
when shopping for home insulation, higher R-value
products are better at insulating, though they're usually
more expensive.
When deciding on the proper input for the "insulation
condition" field in the calculator, use generalized
assumptions. A beach bungalow built in the 1800s with
no renovations should probably be classified as poor. A
3-year-old home inside a newly developed community
most likely deserves a good rating. Windows normally
have poorer thermal resistance than walls. Therefore, a
room with lots of windows normally means poor
insulation. When possible, try to install double-glazed
windows to improve insulation.

Desired Temperature Increase or Decrease

To find the desired change in temperature to input into

the calculator, find the difference between the
unaltered outdoor temperature and the desired
temperature. As a general rule of thumb, a temperature
between 70 and 80°F is a comfortable temperature for
most people.
For example, a home owner in Atlanta might want to
determine their BTU usage during winter. Atlanta
winters tend to hover around 45°F and temperatures
may fall as low as 30°F occasionally. Given that the
desired temperature of the residents is 75°F, the
desired temperature increase would be 75°F - 30°F =
45°F.
Homes in more extreme climates are subject to larger
fluctuations in temperature, which typically results in
higher BTU usage. For instance, heating a home in
Alaska during winter, or cooling a home during a
Houston summer will require more BTUs than heating
or cooling a home in Honolulu, where temperatures
tend to stay around 80°F year-round.

Other Factors

Along with the factors discussed above and their effect

on BTU usage, there are other factors to keep in mind:

The number of residents. A person's body

dissipates heat into the surrounding atmosphere,
so the more people there are, the more BTUs
required to cool the room, and the fewer BTUs
required to warm the room.
Location of the air conditioner condenser. Try to
place the air conditioner condenser on the
shadiest side of the house (typically north or
east). The more the condenser is exposed to
direct sunlight, the harder it must work due to the
higher surrounding air temperature, which
consumes more BTUs. Not only will placing it in a
shadier area result in greater efficiency, but it will
extend the life of the equipment. It is possible to
try and place shady trees around the condenser,
but keep in mind that condensers also require
good surrounding airflow for best efficiency. Make
sure neighboring vegetation does not interfere
with the condenser, blocking air flow into the unit
and choking it.
Size of air conditioning condenser. Units too big
cool homes too rapidly. Therefore, they don't go
through the intended cycles they were designed
for. This may shorten the lifespan of the air
conditioner. On the other hand, if the unit is too
small, it will run too often throughout the day.
Ceiling fan usage. Ceiling fans can help with
lowering BTU usage by improving air circulation.
Any home or room may be subject to dead spots,
or specific areas of improper airflow. This can be
the back corner of the living room behind a couch,
the bathroom with no vent and a big window, or
the laundry room. Thermostats placed in dead
spots can inaccurately manage the temperatures
of homes. Running fans can help to distribute
temperatures evenly across the whole room or
house.
The color of the roof. A darker surface absorbs
more radiant energy than a lighter one. Even dirty
white roofs (with noticeably darker shades)
compared to newer, cleaner surfaces, can result
in noticeable differences.
Decreasing efficiency over the life of the heater or
air conditioner. Like most appliances, the
efficiency of a heater or air conditioner decreases
with usage. It is not uncommon for an air
conditioner to lose 50% or more of its efficiency
when running with insufficient liquid refrigerant.
Shape of the home. A long narrow house has
more walls than a square house with the same
square footage, which means heat loss.

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