What Does BTU Mean?
“What does BTU stand for?” If you are shopping around for HVAC systems for the first time, you will probably find yourself asking this question. BTU is one of the most common terms associated with air conditioning units, but it’s also a widely misunderstood metric. For instance, most people assume that the bigger the number for BTU, the better the air conditioning system. While that assumption isn’t entirely incorrect, obtaining the wrong sized air-conditioning will lead to problems with the unit breaking down or your energy bill running too high. For these reasons and many others, it is imperative to be aware of air conditioning terms and understand how the concept of BTU works. In this article, we will explore BTU at length, to give you a better sense of what this metric means, what it measures, and why it matters.
While that isn’t entirely incorrect, obtaining the wrong sized air-conditioning will lead to problems such as the unit breaking down or your energy bill running too high. This is why it’s imperative to be aware of air-conditioning terms and understand how it works. However, most people don’t completely understand its core definition and what it spells out.
There are several important details to consider for the effective heating and cooling of your property. With climate change in full gear, it’s critical to be aware of the BTU of a system and how it affects the operation of the air conditioner and its effect on the environment. Effective as of 2006, all residential air conditioners sold in the United States must have a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) of at least 13.
The efficiency of air conditioning refers to how well the system cools the air in a room and the amount of energy it consumes. SEER measures the cooling output of the system divided by its power consumption over an entire season. Another metric, Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER), also measures cooling output instead focuses on immediacy and not an entire season. Attached to those ratings is the term BTU.
Definition of BTU
BTU is an important unit of measurement when it comes to climate control, but many of the people who take their heating and air conditioning for granted couldn’t tell you what it means. However, knowing what BTU means and why it’s essential is extremely helpful for homeowners wanting to make the most of their heating and cooling systems.
So, what does BTU represent? The letters are an abbreviation for British Thermal Unit. Oddly enough though, British Thermal Units aren’t used in the United Kingdom regularly, and they haven’t been for quite some time. While some professionals in the UK still use BTU, the International System of Units-approved joule is far more widespread overseas. So, where is BTU still considered relevant? Surprisingly, the country that uses BTU most commonly is the United States.
What Does a BTU Stand For?
In the U.S., BTU is used in reference to various technologies, including grills and gas ranges. However, BTU is most commonly used in relation to commercial and residential HVAC systems, because it is highly relevant to the heating and cooling process. Simply put, a BTU is a measurement of thermal energy—more specifically, the amount of thermal energy that it takes to increase a pound of liquid water by a single degree Fahrenheit. The burning of a wooden matchstick from end to end produces heat and energy that is roughly equal to one BTU. Specific to heating and cooling, the measurement is defined as how many BTUs the system can add or remove from the air in an hour.
What BTU Doesn’t Measure
It is important to note that a BTU does not apply to liquid water at any temperature. After all, water remains liquid throughout a wide range of temperatures—anywhere between 32- and 212-degrees Fahrenheit in our planet’s atmosphere. Furthermore, water has different density levels at various temperatures, which means that different amounts of thermal energy will be required to increase those temperatures. As such, a BTU may only apply to the amount of thermal energy necessary to increase the temperature of a pound of water by one degree when that water is at a standard density.
Therefore, for the conditions described in the above experiment to measure a BTU accurately, the liquid water in question must begin at the temperature where water is the densest: 39 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result, 1 BTU equals the thermal energy needed to raise pure liquid water from 39 degrees to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. It might sound oddly specific for a measurement used in such practical applications, but it has been the industry standard in the United States for many years.
BTU was not always defined according to the above criteria. In fact, thermochemical BTU was originally defined as the amount of required heat to raise the temperature of a single pound of water from its freezing point to the point at which it would boil, divided by 180 degrees Fahrenheit (the difference between those temperatures). This approach resulted in roughly 1054.3 joules of energy for each BTU, whereas the current approach equates a BTU to approximately 1059.7 joules instead. Slightly different calibrations are typically used for natural gas pricing in the United States, as well as some Canadian companies that use Btu as opposed to joules.
Who Developed BTU?
The earliest common usages of BTU dates back to the late 1800s when the units of measurement began to appear with some frequency in certain engineering publications. The term “thermal unit” can be found in an 1885 edition of Steam Engines, suggesting that it was used colloquially (at least in the scientific community) at that time. The man who penned the specific articles that mention thermal units was one William John Macquorn Rankine, a Scottish engineer remembered for his contributions to the study of thermodynamics. It is unclear whether Rankine himself coined the term “BTU,” but by 1897, the British thermal unit was a standard unit of measurement in the English engineering community.
Common acceptance of BTU also owes some debt to Professor De Volson Wood at the Stevens Institute of Technology, who used the term explicitly in his 1893 book, Thermodynamics. Although Prof. Wood is not as notorious a figure as Rankine, his book was considered highly influential in its time and is at least partially responsible for bringing the term from the scientific community into the mainstream. By the 20th century, however, BTU was largely out of vogue in the UK and most of Europe. Only America (and to a lesser extent, Canada) continue to use it as a standard metric.
How BTU Relates to AC
“BTU” is probably a term you’ve heard floating around often in discussions about U.S. air conditioners and heating systems. Still, unless you’re a licensed HVAC technician, you may not have understood its relevance entirely. You might be wondering, “what does BTU stand for in AC?”, and you aren’t alone. There’s an easy answer, though: BTU is most important when it comes to one of the first and foremost aspects of AC ownership: sizing your cooling unit.
You may already know a bit about how important it is to use the right-sized cooling unit for your home. Many licensed technicians will tell you that sizing your unit correctly is arguably the most essential step toward achieving an energy-efficient system. The general rule is this: too small, and your unit will work too hard to cool your space or fail to cool it entirely. Too large, and your unit will fail to use power efficiently, causing you to pay more than necessary for monthly electric bills. Terms like “too big” and “too small” are of limited use when discussing complex and sensitive machinery, though. That’s why BTU exists, allowing manufacturers to definitively specify the performance of the units they produce and enabling technicians to match them with suitable homes.
How Does it Work?
BTU is the unit of measurement used to determine your AC unit’s cooling power. Essentially, the BTU rating that your system uses will correspond to the amount of energy that it consumes: low BTU ratings mean less power, while higher BTU ratings mean more. Using more power isn’t always a bad thing though; in most systems, higher power consumption comes with greater heating and cooling abilities. The trick is to make sure that your heating and cooling systems use just enough power to control the climate in your building effectively, which requires matching your home’s size to an HVAC system with the correct BTU rating.
How can you make sure the size of your building corresponds to the BTU rating of your HVAC? To size your unit to your building correctly, just measure the BTU rating of your air conditioner against the square footage of your home. The BTU requirement of a room is based on the cubic volume of the space. Jot down the height, width, and length of the room and multiply it by four. You must also consider what is above, below and beside the room in question. Many people make the common mistake of assuming that “sizing” their air conditioner is primarily related to how big your cooling unit is. Still, the term refers more to the available space in your home that requires cooling. Besides, modern air conditioners can be quite compact and still manage to have high BTU ratings.
Finding the Right Size
So, what’s the correct ratio of BTU to square footage in your building? The answer to that question is a little complicated. Under average conditions, you’ll require an air conditioner with a BTU rating of 5,000 to cool an area of approximately 100 square feet. Still, these numbers do not increase or decrease in direct proportion to each other. Furthermore, the BTU required to cool your home may depend on some other variables as well. You can get a better idea of the BTU rating your home’s unit will need by consulting a sizing chart, but your best bet is to speak with a licensed HVAC contractor who is qualified to make such judgment calls.
Your HVAC technician will likely tell you that the BTU rating you need for your AC unit also depends on factors such as the amount of shade or the amount of natural sunlight in the rooms you’re trying to cool, and how many people typically occupy each. There are a few rules of thumb you can use to estimate how these factors might affect your desired BTU ratings, but these are by no means entirely precise. For example, you might reduce the BTU rating your air conditioner needs by one-tenth if the space it is intended to chill is particularly shady, or add 10 percent for a sunny room. On the other hand, if you’re attempting to cool a second story that’s usually warmer than the ground floor, you add 10 percent of the recommended BTUs. There are a lot of different variables to consider.
Air conditioning rooms such as the kitchen, where several appliances give off heat when in use, may require extra power. In this case, it’s advisable to add 4,000 BTUs to the suggested cooling power. If there are more than two people in the room regularly, you should add approximately 600 BTU to your final calculation for each one. When you’re dealing with a system intended to cool multiple rooms—such as a central HVAC system—trying to account for these variables without error can be complicated and time-consuming. Many people just opt to have a professional size their air conditioner for them, so that they can rely on accurate results.
How BTU Relates to Heating
Now that you know what BTU stands for in AC, you might be wondering, “what does BTU stand for in heaters?” BTU is just as crucial for adequate heating as it is for proper air conditioning, and similar rules apply when it comes to determining the appropriate BTU rating for your heater. As with air conditioning, assessing the BTU needed to heat your home comfortably will depend largely on its size, but many other factors will come into play as well. Insulation levels, your number of windows, and the climate of the area surrounding your building are three of the biggest considerations. Every home will be different, which is why speaking with a licensed technician is always the most accurate route to take.
Still, understanding BTU can prevent you from being in the dark when your technician is sizing your unit, or can give you extra confidence during installations. Remember: it’s wonderful to work with professionals that you can trust, but you should still know enough to be aware of what they’re doing. Study the terminology that your technicians use and understand the factors they consider. You’ll experience the peace of mind that comes with being in the loop whenever they’re working in your home.
Maintaining Your System
Being aware of what BTU represents and understanding what it means for your air conditioning won’t provide you with effective heating and cooling for the rest of your life. Unfortunately, there is a bit to do on your part. Always hire a professional HVAC technician to carry out regular maintenance which can reduce the heating and cooling costs by five to ten percent. Air conditioners should be serviced in spring with furnaces being maintained in the fall.
Cleaning and replacing filters regularly will keep the unit in operational condition. Ensure there are no leaks in the ducts and seal them with fiberglass mesh. Always keep your outdoor unit free from any weeds or obstacles and ensure there’s unrestricted airflow.
Best Practices for Effective Air-Conditioning
Since installing a cooling or heating system in your home is a significant investment, you want to take care of your asset. You could save up to ten percent on energy bills by adjusting the thermostat when you’re not home or asleep. When you’re awake during winter, set the thermostat at 68 degrees Fahrenheit and set it back when you’re sleeping. There’s a savings of one percent for every degree Fahrenheit set back within eight hours. It’s advisable that when you’re not home in summer to set the temperature at around 78 degrees Fahrenheit. In many cases, you can program the thermostat to decrease before you arrive home.
To decrease your utility costs and increase the efficiency of the system, close the damper when the fireplace isn’t in use. Let the sunlight enter during the warm season and close your curtains to maintain the heat. Ensure your vents and ducts are clean and unobstructed.
Conclusion
“What does BTU stand for?” is an important question to ask when buying a new air conditioning system, but remember that BTU is only one of the factors to consider when installing air conditioning in your home. Other factors, from the size of your home to how well insulated it is, will affect your ultimate purchasing system. Perhaps most importantly, don’t forget that a larger BTU rating doesn’t necessarily mean better performance from your AC system. Instead, performance and power are all relative to the size of the space. Working with a skilled HVAC contractor will help you find the right-sized AC unit to suit your needs.