kW to frigories converter
One kilowatt is 860 frigories per hour.
Your inputs
Your inputs are processed on your device and are not sent to a server.
Example loaded. You can change any value.
There is no figure yet: nothing is calculated until you ask for it.
- Enter your measurements.
- Check the units and the assumptions.
- Press Calculate, or load the example.
Rather see a worked case? Press “Load example” and change any value afterwards.
Next step
The BTU is the third unit on that same commercial label.
Where each number comes from Conversion constants are exact; densities and coverage rates come from cited sources; everything else is an assumption you can change. Methodology · Sources and updates
How to use it
- Enter the unit's cooling capacity in kW.
- Read the frigories per hour: the number used in shop windows and word of mouth.
- Check the nearest commercial step (2,250, 3,000 or 4,500).
- The BTU/h on the same row will help you find the model outside Spain.
How it is calculated
This is the everyday Spanish conversion: both numbers live in the same country. Data sheets and energy labels are in kW because European rules require it; the shop window, the installer and your brother-in-law still talk in frigories.
The rough rule is 1 kW ≈ 860 frigories, which is enough to get through a conversation. For comparing two quotes, the exact figure is worth having.
The conversion, exactly
All three units measure the same thing, energy per unit of time, and only the scale changes: the watt belongs to the SI, the BTU/h to English-speaking markets and the frigorie per hour to Spain and Latin America. The ton of refrigeration, used on larger equipment, is 12,000 BTU/h by definition.
Worked example
A 3.5 kW unit:
- 3,500 / 1.163 = 3,009 frigories/h
- In BTU/h: 11,942
The practical rule is that 1 kW is about 860 frigories. A 2.6 kW unit is around 2,240 frigories and is sold as a 2,250.
Good to know
- 860 is a convenient rounding. The exact value is 859.85 frigories per hour per kW, because a kilocalorie is 4,186.8 joules. The difference changes no buying decision, but it is worth knowing where the number comes from.
- The kW on the energy label may be the consumption one. The label carries capacity and also annual consumption in kWh; they are different things and neither converts to frigories with this factor.
- Commercial steps win. If you get 2,236 frigories, the unit you will buy is the 2,250: there is nothing in between.
Frequently asked questions
How many frigories is 1 kW?
859.85 frigories/h, rounded to 860 in practice. It comes from dividing 1,000 W by 1.163 W per frigorie.
How many frigories is 3.5 kW?
3,009 frigories/h, which is a 3,000-frigorie commercial unit.
And 2.6 kW?
2,236 frigories/h, the typical 2,250-frigorie or 9,000 BTU unit.
Why 1.163?
Because a kilocalorie is 4,186.8 joules and an hour is 3,600 seconds: 4,186.8 / 3,600 = exactly 1.163 W.