What are BTUs & Why Do They Matter?
BTU is a common term that you may have come across when shopping for a portable AC unit. The British Thermal Unit (BTU) appears in many product descriptions and names. The BTU is a standard unit that is used to measure heat energy. Precisely, it measures the quantity of heat energy required to raise 1 pound of water 1ºF at sea level. In AC installation, the measurement is usually expressed in terms of how many BTUs per hour a given AC unit product can add or remove from the air. However, in heat pump installation and furnace installation, the specific BTU number usually represents the heat output of a particular unit. The number is directly related to the amount of heat the unit can produce. This means that the higher the number, the more heat the heat pump system or furnace can produce. The size of the product does not dictate the number on it. Even on smaller heat pump systems or AC units in Lumpkin, GA, the BTU number can be higher. Again, the bigger your home, the higher the number of BTU you will want since it implies that the heating or cooling unit will be able to...
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