How much area can be cooled by a 1 ton split ac?

Answer 1

The answer you don't want to hear, but is most accurate, is that "it depends". For residential applications the right way to size an air conditioning unit is with an ACCA Manual J load calculation. Each house has different conditions including outside air leakage/infiltration, duct location, insulation levels, window size and quality, solar orientation, and more. (These listed are the most critical.)

A very rough idea is:

- For and older drafty, inefficient house 400SF per ton. Any sizing larger than this should be explained by the contractor.

- For a newer reasonably built house 600SF per ton.

- For an Energy Star Qualified house 600-800SF per ton.

- Well designed, thoughtfully crafted houses can achieve 800-1000 SF per ton.

Bigger is not better - getting the right size is important. About 70% of the work of the air conditioner is to remove the humidity from the air - this is called the latent load. An oversized unit will bring the temperature down quickly but not remove the humidity. A right-sized unit will run longer and do a better job with dehumidification allowing you to keep the set-point several degrees warmer and still achieve the comfort level expected.

energystar.gov has more, look for heating and cooling.

Most air-conditioners generate about 400 CFM per ton, but don't confuse Square Feet with Cubic Feet. A sunny South-facing room will take more CFM to cool than the same size room facing North.

Answer 2

About 600 to 900 square feet for average residential homes using a split a/c (outside condenser). It can vary from 400 to 600 square feet per ton.

For window units, a rule of thumb is 100 square feet (800 cubic feet) per ton. Window units are often expressed in thousands of BTUs per hour, where 1 ton = approximately 12,000 BTU/hour.

Answer 3

Up to 600 square feet under normal operating conditions (about 35 C cooled to 20 C).