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Capacity ratings

The refrigeration capacity of a refrigeration system is the product of the evaporators ' enthalpy rise and the evaporators' mass flow rate. The measured capacity of refrigeration is often dimensioned in the unit of kW or BTU/h. Domestic and commercial refrigerators may be rated in kJ/s, or Btu/h of cooling. For commercial and industrial refrigeration systems, the kilowatt (kW) is the basic unit of refrigeration, except in North America, where both ton of refrigeration and BTU/h are used.

A refrigeration system's coefficient of performance (CoP) is very important in determining a system's overall efficiency. It is defined as refrigeration capacity in kW divided by the energy input in kW. While CoP is a very simple measure of performance, it is typically not used for industrial refrigeration in North America. Owners and manufacturers of these systems typically use performance factor (PF). A system's PF is defined as a system's energy input in horsepower divided by its refrigeration capacity in TR. Both CoP and PF can be applied to either the entire system or to system components. For example, an individual compressor can be rated by comparing the energy needed to run the compressor versus the expected refrigeration capacity based on inlet volume flow rate. It is important to note that both CoP and PF for a refrigeration system are only defined at specific operating conditions, including temperatures and thermal loads. Moving away from the specified operating conditions can dramatically change a system's performance.

Air conditioning systems used in residential application typically use SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio)for the energy performance rating. Air conditioning systems for commercial application often use EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio) and IEER (Integrated Energy Efficiency Ratio) for the energy efficiency performance rating.