What this converter does
This converter turns tons of refrigeration into kilowatts and back. One ton is the cooling rate that freezes a short ton of ice in a day — exactly 3.5169 kW. Type a value, pick your units, and read the capacity instantly.
It also covers BTU/hr, kcal/h and megawatts, so you can size a chiller in whatever unit your equipment schedule uses. For thermal power in general, see the BTU/hr to kW converter.
The units it covers
Every unit here measures cooling or heating capacity, converting through the kilowatt with a fixed ratio.
View all units & their values
| Unit | Symbol | Value | Mainly used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kilowatt | kW | 1 | SI cooling/heating capacity |
| Ton of refrigeration | TR | 3.5169 | US HVAC chiller sizing |
| BTU per hour | BTU/hr | 0.000293 | US equipment ratings |
| Kilocalorie per hour | kcal/h | 0.001163 | Older metric ratings |
| Megawatt | MW | 1000 | District cooling plants |
The formula
Each capacity unit has a fixed value in kilowatts, so converting means going through the kilowatt once:
result = value × factor_from ÷ factor_toWhere:
- value = the number you typed
- factor_from = the “from” unit’s value in kW
- factor_to = the “to” unit’s value in kW
Worked example
Convert a 5-ton air conditioner to kilowatts.
1 TR = 3.516853 kW5 × 3.516853 = 17.58 kWA 5-ton unit delivers about 17.6 kW of cooling.
The units in this example
The US unit of cooling capacity — the rate that melts one short ton of ice in 24 hours. Standard for chillers and packaged AC in North America.
- 1 TR = 3.5169 kW
- 1 TR = 12,000 BTU/hr
- 1 TR = 3,024 kcal/h
- 5 TR = 17.58 kW
The SI unit of cooling and heating capacity, used on chiller and heat-pump schedules across most of the world.
- 1 kW = 0.2843 TR
- 1 kW = 3,412 BTU/hr
- 1 kW = 860 kcal/h
- 10 kW = 2.843 TR