To determine how much KVA (kilovolt-amperes) is required for a 1.5-ton air conditioner (AC), you'll need to convert the power consumption from tons to kilovolt-amperes. Hereβs a step-by-step guide:
### 1. **Convert Tons to BTUs**
The cooling capacity of an air conditioner is often measured in tons, where 1 ton is equivalent to 12,000 BTUs (British Thermal Units) per hour. So, for a 1.5-ton AC:
\[ \text{Cooling Capacity} = 1.5 \text{ tons} \times 12,000 \text{ BTUs/ton} = 18,000 \text{ BTUs/hr} \]
### 2. **Convert BTUs to Watts**
To find out the power consumption in watts, you can use the fact that 1 watt is approximately equal to 3.412 BTUs/hr. Therefore:
\[ \text{Power (W)} = \frac{\text{Cooling Capacity (BTUs/hr)}}{3.412} \]
So:
\[ \text{Power (W)} = \frac{18,000}{3.412} \approx 5,279 \text{ watts} \]
### 3. **Convert Watts to Kilowatts**
Since 1 kilowatt (kW) equals 1,000 watts:
\[ \text{Power (kW)} = \frac{\text{Power (W)}}{1,000} \]
So:
\[ \text{Power (kW)} = \frac{5,279}{1,000} \approx 5.28 \text{ kW} \]
### 4. **Convert Kilowatts to KVA**
To convert kilowatts to kilovolt-amperes, you need to know the power factor (PF) of the AC unit. The power factor for most residential AC units is typically around 0.9. The formula to convert kW to KVA is:
\[ \text{KVA} = \frac{\text{kW}}{\text{Power Factor (PF)}} \]
So:
\[ \text{KVA} = \frac{5.28}{0.9} \approx 5.87 \text{ KVA} \]
### Summary
For a 1.5-ton air conditioner, you would typically need around 5.87 KVA, assuming a power factor of 0.9. If you have a different power factor, you would adjust the calculation accordingly.