Cooling capacity

Cooling capacity is the measure of a cooling system's ability to remove heat.^[1] The SI units are watts (W). Other common units include tons, and tonnes, which describe the amount of water at a given temperature that can be frozen in a given amount of time.^[2] 1 ton of refrigeration is the ability of a refrigerator to freeze 2000 lbm of water at 0 °C or 32 °F in the period of 24 hours. 1 ton of refrigeration is equivalent to 211 [kJ/min] or 200 [Btu/min].^[3]

The basic SI units equation for deriving cooling capacity is of the form:

$\dot{Q}=\dot{m}C_p\Delta T$

Where

$\dot{Q}$ is the cooling capacity [kW]

$\dot{m}$ is the mass rate [kg/s]

$C_p$ is the specific heat capacity [kJ/kg K]

$\Delta T$ is the temperature change [K]

References

1. Boles, Yunus A. Çengel, Michael A. (2011). Thermodynamics : an engineering approach (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 608. ISBN 978-0-07-352932-5.
2. "Cooling Capacity". Furnace Compare (furnacecompare.com). Retrieved 30 October 2011.
3. Boles, Yunus A. Çengel, Michael A. (2011). Thermodynamics : an engineering approach (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 609. ISBN 978-0-07-352932-5.