MCPCalc

AC Tonnage Calculator

Calculate air conditioning tonnage needed by area and exposure.

Scratchpad (not saved)

sq ft

What This Calculator Does

Calculate air conditioning tonnage needed by area and exposure.

It combines Home Square Footage, Climate, Sun Exposure, Insulation to estimate AC Tonnage, Cooling BTU, Recommended Unit Size.

Formula & Method

Base cooling load is BTU_{base}=Area\cdot25. Adjusted load is BTU_{total}=BTU_{base}\cdot f_{climate}\cdot f_{sun}\cdot f_{insulation}+600\cdot\max(Occupants-2,0)+KitchenAdd where KitchenAdd=4000 for heavy cooking. Tonnage is T=\frac{BTU_{total}}{12000}, rounded up to the nearest 0.5 ton.

Notation used in the formulas: R = AC Tonnage; x_{1} = Home Square Footage; x_{2} = Climate; x_{3} = Sun Exposure; x_{4} = Insulation; x_{5} = Number of Occupants; x_{6} = Kitchen Heat.

Method summary: inputs are normalized to consistent units, core equations are evaluated, then secondary values are derived and rounded for display.

Use this calculator for quick scenario analysis. Start with baseline values, change one driver at a time, and compare how sensitive the results are to each input shown above.

Inputs Used

  • Home Square Footage: Used directly in the calculation.
  • Climate: Used directly in the calculation.
  • Sun Exposure: Used directly in the calculation.
  • Insulation: Used directly in the calculation.
  • Number of Occupants: Used directly in the calculation.
  • Kitchen Heat: Used directly in the calculation.

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