What are BTU’s in Air-conditioners?
BTU stands for British Thermal Unit and this pertains to the measurement of heat or thermal energy. In its basic sense, it takes one BTU to heat one pound of water to an extra Fahrenheit degree. So for example, 10 ounces of water registers a 29 degree Fahrenheit, one BTU is needed for the water temperature to reach 30 degrees. But this whole heating concept is somewhat reversed when talking about air-conditioners. Since air-conditioning units function to remove hot air and inject cool air to a certain room or space, the BTU label on these units indicates how much heat can be removed from the room. So if a particular air-conditioning unit is labeled with a 20,000 BTU, then it simply means that this unit is able to remove this much BTU or thermal heat from the room for a given period of time. This concept of using BTU labels is basically the same when talking about heating units and appliances. Applying the previous example of 20,000 BTU to heating units, it simply means that the unit is able to provide a maximum of 20,000 BTUs or thermal energy to the involved room.

BTUs are often the main deciding factor for people who are planning to purchase air conditioners. For most people, the amount of BTU a particular air-conditioning unit is able to remove from a given room is the most important feature of this appliance. Other people also consider the power of the air-conditioning motor or engine which is usually labeled in terms of horsepower. Higher horsepower usually means a bigger and more powerful engine. Air-conditioning units that have higher horsepowers are best suited for bigger rooms and spaces. This is the reason why the size of the room or space is also important in determining which air conditioner works best and which is more energy-efficient.