kcal/h (kilocalories per hour)
Also known as: kilocalories per hour, frigories per hour
Short definitionA heat rate unit that lives on in old nameplates and in the language of installers. 860 kcal/h is about 1 kW.
One kilocalorie is the heat that warms 1 kg of water by 1 °C. kcal/h gives the number of kilocalories moved in an hour. In Turkey cooling capacity was quoted this way for years; the standard is now kW, yet phrases like "an eight-thousand-calorie unit" are still heard on site. Frigories per hour is the same number and only indicates that heat is being removed.
When renewing an old room or comparing two quotes, the units are aligned first. Dividing the kcal/h figure by 860 gives kW: 8,000 kcal/h is about 9.3 kW. It should not be mixed up with BTU/h either; 1 kcal/h is about 3.97 BTU/h. If the unit is overlooked, the equipment ends up far too small or needlessly large.