The BTU, simply put, is a British Thermal Unit. It seems strange that the BTU would be a measurement of energy in the United States if it’s British. It also doesn’t seem to explain why BTUs in your heating and cooling appliances are important.
Why Is a BTU British?
A BTU really isn’t British. If you research it, there really isn’t a clear-cut origin story as to why it is labeled British thermal unit. You will, however, see the definition as the “quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit at a specific temperature.” The definition alone mentions pounds and Fahrenheit, units of measurement that are not British, much less metric units of measurement. They are standard, American units of measurement.
Why BTUs Are Important
HVAC contractors have to calculate the amount of heat or cooled air to make an indoor space comfortable. They use the BTU and square footage methods to get the right number of BTUs needed to recommend the right furnace or air conditioner to customer. If the calculation of BTUs to home square footage is incorrect, your home will never be warm enough or cool enough as a result of the wrong furnace or AC.
The calculation is altered for cooling as heating calculations are easy enough to do. In cooling appliances, the BTU needs to reflect the number of BTUs needed to absorb heat and reduce the temperature, not increase the temperature. As a homeowner, you can calculate the BTUs yourself if you get the numbers and plug them into the BTU calculators you can get online.
BTU Usage Affects Utility Bill
The more BTUs you use in gas heating the higher your gas bill in a month. When you can figure out how many BTUs you need to keep your home warm without using excess, that is your target BTU usage. Most air conditioning systems have BTU levels listed on them, which tells you how much electricity the system needs to cool your home.