A Ton of refrigeration (abbreviated TR or ton‑ref) is a unit of power historically defined as the rate of heat removal required to melt one short ton (2000 lb) of ice at 0°C in 24 hours. This corresponds to approximately 12 000 BTU per hour.
Understanding BTU per hour (BTU/hr)
The British Thermal Unit per hour (BTU/hr) measures thermal power in the Imperial system. One BTU is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.
Practical Applications
HVAC system sizing – commercial chillers are rated in tons of refrigeration.
Industrial process cooling – engineers often convert between TR and BTU/hr to match equipment specifications.
Energy audits – comparing energy consumption in BTU/hr with cooling capacity in TR.
The exact conversion factor is \\ (1\\,\\text{TR}=11999.993175715099\\,\\text{BTU/hr}\\). Using this factor ensures precise calculations for load analysis and equipment selection.
Ton of refrigeration to BTU per hour Conversion Reference Table
A Ton of refrigeration equals the heat‑removal rate needed to melt one short ton of ice at 0°C over 24 hours, which is about 12 000 BTU/hr.
Multiply the number of tons by the exact factor 11999.993175715099. For example, 10 TR × 11999.993175715099 = 119,999.93 BTU/hr.
"On fait la science avec des faits, comme on fait une maison avec des pierres ; mais une accumulation de faits n'est pas plus une science qu'un tas de pierres n'est une maison." "Science is built up of facts, as a house is built of stones; but an accumulation of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house." — Henri Poincaré (French Mathematician, Theoretical Physicist & Mining Engineer)