AC Units Wholesale in San Jose – What Is a BTU?
A BTU, short for British thermal unit, is a basic measure of thermal (heat) energy. One BTU is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 pound (0.45 kg) of water by 1° Fahrenheit (0.55° Celsius). In other words, if 16 ounces (0.47 l) of water at 59°F (15°C) were poured into a stovetop pan and the gas burner turned on, it would take 1 BTU to raise the temperature of the water to 60°F (15.6°C). If the pan was left on the gas flame, the water would eventually reach the boiling point of 212°F (100°C), which would take about 153 BTUs. This non-metric unit of measure is commonly employed only in certain countries — including the US — and is used mainly to rate the heat output of fuels and appliances.
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The precise amount of heat required to achieve a 1°F (0.55°C) increase in temperature varies slightly with the starting temperature of the water. There is no universal agreement on what this should be, so the definition varies with place and context. In the US, a starting temperature of 59°F (15°C) is generally used, but in Canada, it is 60°F (15.6°C). In other cases, it may be an average over a range of temperatures, or it may be equated to a specific value in joules, which are the SI units for energy.
Despite its name, the British thermal unit is rarely used in Britain. It is a pre-metric measurement, and as such is employed mainly in countries where that system has not been fully adopted. In the world of science, the joule is the unit normally used to represent energy, but in some countries, notably the US and Canada, the British thermal unit is the standard measurement of heat output for appliances such as heaters and gas grills, and for fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. It is also used as a measurement of the cooling effect of refrigerators and air conditioning: these may be given a rating in terms of how many BTUs they can remove from their environment.
The ratings that appear on appliances are actually BTUs per hour, whereas those for fuels are per unit weight, which may be in pounds or tons, or per unit volume, which may be in gallons, cubic feet or barrels. For example, a fan heater may be rated at 34,000 BTU/hr. In the case of fuels, some typical values are 35 million BTUs per ton for coal, 5.6 million per barrel for crude oil, and 1,030 per cubic foot for natural gas.
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