One ton of refrigeration is roughly the same as 12,000 BTUs per hour. That means a 1.5-ton air conditioner has an 18,000 BTU/h cooling capacity because 12,000 × 1.5 = 18,000. A 2-ton device has 24,000 BTU; a 2.5-ton unit has 30,000 BTU, and so on. Read more