Is the British heatwave making you wish for an air conditioner? With the heat and added humidity levels experienced across the UK, an air conditioner is a perfect solution to restoring cool air and reducing the sticky feeling. However, before purchasing, there are a few elements to consider beforehand to ensure you have the role model for your needs.
How much heat do you want to remove? Knowing the size of the room you want cooling impacts the type of MeacoCool model. For example, if you only require an air conditioner for your bedroom, the MeacoCool MC Series 10000BTU will be the right size for the given space.
The cooling capacities of our MeacoCool range are given in BTU’s and kW’s. 1kW is equal to 3412BTUs. To more accurately calculate the required BTU output of your room, you need to consider the various heat sources and add them together to determine the cooling you require.
You need to know:
- The floor area of the room
- The size and position of windows, and whether they have blinds or shades
- The number of room occupants (if any)
- The heat generated by equipment
- The heat generated by lighting
Floor Area of Room
The amount of cooling required depends on the area of the room. To calculate the area in square metres:
Room Area BTU = Length (m) x Width (m) x 337
Window Size and Position
If your room has no windows, you can ignore this part of the calculation. If, however, there are windows, you need to take the size and orientation into account.
South Window BTU = South Facing window Length (m) x Width (m) x 870
North Window BTU = North Facing windows Length (m) x Width (m) x 165
If there are no blinds on the windows multiply the result(s) by 1.5.
Add together all the BTUs for the windows.
Windows BTU = South Window(s) BTU + North Window(s) BTU
Occupants
You will have to take that into account people who normally working in the space. The heat output is around 400 BTU per person.
Total Occupant BTU = Number of occupants x 400
Equipment
Clearly most heat in a room is generated by the equipment. This is trickier to calculate that you might think. The wattage on equipment is the maximum power consumption rating, the actual power consumed may be less. However, it is probably safer to overestimate the wattage than underestimate it.
Equipment BTU = Total wattage for all equipment x 3.5
Lighting
Take the total wattage of the lighting and multiply by 4.25.
Lighting BTU = Total wattage for all lighting x 4.25
Total Cooling Required
Add all the BTUs together.
Total Heat Load = Room Area BTU + Windows BTU + Total Occupant BTU + Equipment BTU + Lighting BTU
This is the amount of cooling required so you need one or more air conditioning units to handle that amount of heat.
Good luck and stay cool!
Disclaimer: These calculations are intended as rough guide only. Complete accuracy cannot be guaranteed
Products featured: MeacoCool
2 responses
When will the new air conditioning unit be available please? And will it be suitable for an elderly person to use?
Brenda,
Thank you for your enquiry. The new air conditioning unit have been available as of this week.
In terms of suitability, it can be used by most people, including elderly users, as it is designed with straightforward controls, standard plug-in operation and wheels making it easy to move around when need be. However, factors such as ease of moving the unit for storing, unpacking, and installing the window kit may be worth considering depending on the individual’s mobility and comfort with setup.
I hope that helps,
Omar@Meaco