Home Guides Home Home Improvement Sustainability How Many BTUs Are Needed for a Window Type A/C to Cool a 20x10 Room? Email Reddit Know what size air conditioner you need to beat the heat without busting the budget. When installing a window air conditioning unit, always choose the correct energy output for the size room you are cooling. This output is measured in British thermal units per hour. Too few Btu will leave your air conditioner struggling to keep up, but resist the urge to simply buy an oversized unit. An oversized air conditioner will gobble energy and cool the room too quickly, leaving a high humidity level that will make the room feel cold and damp rather than comfortable. You will increase your comfort and reduce your electric bill by choosing the proper size unit for your room. Size Calculations To determine the necessary Btu output required to cool your room, first calculate the room’s square footage by multiplying the length of the room by the width. Then consult one of the many available online calculators or charts that will tell you the Btu output you will need for your square footage.

So a room that is 20 feet wide and 10 feet long is 200 square feet, which requires an output of between 6,000 and 7,500 Btu per hour. hvac package unit sizingIncrease the number of Btu by 10 percent if the room is in direct sunlight, and reduce it by the same amount if the room is well shaded. why is there condensation on my ac unitAdd 600 Btu per person if the room is frequently occupied by more than two people at a time and 4,000 Btu if the unit is being used in a kitchen. air from window ac smellsHome Guides Home Home Improvement Sustainability How Much Space Does a 12,000 Btu Air Conditioner Cool? Email Reddit A 12,000 Btu air conditioner can cool a 500-square-foot room. The cooling capacity of air conditioners is measured in BTUs, or British thermal units.

The more Btu of capacity, the larger the room the air conditioner can cool. Scientifically, one Btu is the amount of energy required to change the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. In terms of air-conditioner capacity, the rule of thumb is that it takes around 25 Btu to cool 1 square foot of room floor area. Air Conditioner Ratings The most common window air conditioning units come in cooling capacities ranging from 5,000 to 12,000 Btu. A 12,000 Btu air conditioner can cool between 450 and 550 square feet of floor space. A 12,000 Btu unit could cool a room 25 feet long by 20 feet wide that has 500 square feet of floor area. Manufacturers give their own ratings as to how much room area they believe their units can cool. Actual Performance Varies An air conditioner’s cooling capability is affected by your environment and certain physical characteristics of the room being cooled. Your unit’s cooling ability varies depending on your climate and weather, amount of wall and ceiling insulation, the direction windows face, the number of windows and number of occupants.

: Understanding BTUs Photo Credits Thinkstock/Comstock/Getty Images Suggest a Correction What Is the Real Estate Process After a ... After a contract is signed in the real estate process ... How Is Real Estate Depreciated? Real estate is often depreciated after a period of ... Can I Cancel a Real Estate Offer Without a ... Real estate offers can typically be canceled for a ... Rules Prior to Closing a Mortgage Rules prior to closing a mortgage require you to pay ...So how do you know which size air conditioner you need given the many different sizes available? It depends on the size of the room or rooms you are trying to cool. To start you need to measure the area that needs to be cooled and this will give you a good idea of the correct size air conditioner you will need. If you are looking for an air conditioner that will cool your entire house then please call us as there are many other factors needed to calculate this. To calculate the size you need to multiply the length times the width of the room or rooms you are trying to cool. 

When trying to cool two adjacent areas determine each space separately and add the totals together. Then refer to our chart to the right to see how many BTU’s your air conditioner needs in order to cool the room(s) properly. Example 1: You want to cool just one room that is 10′ long and 12′ wide. 10 X 12 = 120 By looking at our chart you would need an air conditioner with 5,000 BTU’s to cool this room of 120 sq. ft. Example 2: You want to cool two adjacent rooms. Room #1 is 10′ long and 11′ feet and Room #2 is 8′ wide and 10′ long. Room #1: 10 X 11 = 110 Room #2: 8 X 10 = 80 Total of both rooms is 190. You would need an air conditioner with 6,000 BTU’s to cool these rooms. Once you have determined the number of BTUs that will most efficiently cool your rooms, you need to make adjustments based on other factors as well: How many BTUs to cool a room? Here are some common room sizes and the needed BTUs: 8 X 10 = 80 sq. ft. |

9 X 10 = 90 sq. ft. | 10 X 12 = 120 sq. ft. | 11 X 13 = 143 sq. ft. | 12 X 12 = 144 sq. ft. | 12 X 14 = 168 sq. ft. | 13 X 19 = 247 sq. ft. | 14 X 18 = 252 sq. ft. | 16 X 20 = 320 sq. ft. | While you can calculate the square footage on your own, one of our trained air conditioning professionals may be the better choice to perform a BTU calculation on your home. Give us a call and we will be more than happy to help you get the correct air conditioner you need. Designed to be built into the wall, these GE Air Conditioners do not have the side or top vents that are typical for window air conditioners. Built-in units offer a better weather barrier than standard window air conditioners and keep windows free of obstructions. Built-In Wall Air Conditioners Window AC units are portable, and are not installed into the structure of the home or building. GE window air conditioners are designed to fit traditional-style windows and come with our EZ-mount installation.

Measure the square footage of the room or rooms to be cooled. If an exact match of cooling capacity is not possible, it is preferable to select a unit which is slightly undersize in BTUs, rather than oversize. If the area to be cooled includes a kitchen, add an additional 4000 BTU/hr. When sizing larger living areas, it is usually better to use at least two air conditioners rather than one large unit. Doing so offers better air distribution which reduces the likelihood of hot and cold spots. The cooling capacity of window air conditioners is measured in British Thermal Units or BTUs. The air BTU rating refers to the cooling power of the product. It is critical that the capacity of a room air conditioner be the right size for the room being cooled. An improperly-sized air conditioner can result in a cold, clammy environment or an inadequately cooled room. What size GE room air conditioner is right for you? * Based on an 8-ft. ceiling height. Size requirements will vary based on other factors.