Kilowatts and Refrigeration Tons Converter

Central Plant HVAC & Industrial Chiller Engineering

In large commercial complexes, hospitals, and campus district cooling systems, cooling capacity is specified interchangeably in Tons of Refrigeration (TR) (US customary) and Kilowatts thermal (kW) (international SI).

Chiller Plant Efficiency Metrics

• kW/ton: Standard US metric representing electrical kilowatts consumed per ton of cooling delivered. Lower numbers mean higher efficiency.

• COP (Coefficient of Performance): Dimensionless ratio of thermal cooling output divided by electrical power input).

• EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio): \ produced per Watt consumed).

Standard Chiller Configurations

• Water-Cooled Centrifugal Chiller: Highly efficient. Employs cooling towers to reject heat at wet-bulb temperatures.

• Air-Cooled Screw/Scroll Chiller: Self-contained outdoor units. No cooling tower required, ideal for water-scarce regions.

• Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF): Highly flexible zoned heat recovery.

How to Use This Calculator

Enter your Conversion Direction — choose from Tons of Refrigeration (TR) ➔ Kilowatts Thermal (kW), Kilowatts Thermal (kW) ➔ Tons of Refrigeration (TR), Cooling / Chiller Capacity Value (e.g. 100), and HVAC Chiller Plant Configuration — choose from Water-Cooled Centrifugal Chiller (~0.55 kW/ton, COP ~6.4), Air-Cooled Screw / Scroll Chiller (~1.10 kW/ton, COP ~3.2), Commercial Rooftop Packaged DX Unit (~1.25 kW/ton, COP ~2.8). Results update instantly as you type — adjust any value to compare scenarios.

The Formula

Thermodynamic conversion formulas between Kilowatts thermal (kW) and Tons of Refrigeration (TR):_thermal = Tons (TR) × 3.5168528 of Refrigeration (TR) = kW_thermal3.5168528 = kW_thermal × 0.284345 water loop and chiller efficiency formulas:- Chilled Water Flow (GPM): GPM = (24 × Tons) / (Δ T\ (^)F) (typically 2.4 GPM/ton at 10^\ Δ T)- Coefficient of Performance (COP): COP = (3.51685) / (kW/ton)- Electrical Compressor Power: kW_electric = Tons × kW/ton

Worked Example

For example, a central chiller plant rated at 100 Tons of Refrigeration (TR): . This extracts requires an evaporator water flow of 240 GPM, and for a high-efficiency water-cooled centrifugal chiller, draws approximately 55.0 kW of electrical power (COP 6.39).

Understanding Your Result

Percentages are relative values — context determines what is "good" or "bad." A 50% discount is significant; a 50% failure rate is alarming. Percentage change and percentage points are different: moving from 4% to 5% is a 1 percentage point increase, but a 25% relative increase. When comparing percentages across different base values, always check whether absolute differences are meaningful — a 10% improvement on a large base creates more absolute value than 10% on a small base.