What Size Btu Window Air Conditioner Do I Need

A window air conditioner s btu quantifies the size room it can handle.

What size btu window air conditioner do i need.

As a rule of thumb an air conditioner needs 20 btu for each square foot of. The smaller the number the smaller the room it can cool. According to the us department of energy directive the most appropriate size of an air conditioner would be 2 880 btu unit. Consumer reports recommends 20 btus per square foot of the living space or spaces you want to cool down.

Open the bottom window and measure the opening from the bottom of the window to the top of the window ledge. But no worries about having to do any confusing equations luckily there s a convenient list for figuring how much a c power you need for a room based on the room s square footage. Conversely the higher the number the larger the room it can cool. Window air conditioners typically have a cooling capacity ranging from 5 000 to 12 500 british thermal units btu hr.

If you need to install a unit that delivers 12 000 btus or more have an electrician install a 240 volt receptacle. The best you can do here is to buy a small 5 000 btu window or small 8 000 btu portable ac unit more about smallest ac units here. One btu is enough energy to heat one pound of water by 1 degree f a few tips. How do i calculate the right size air conditioner.

Written on the side of each box of window air conditioners there s a chart that displays the opening size requirements for that particular window air conditioner.