Refrigeration capacity
Short definitionThe heat a refrigeration unit can remove at a given operating condition. It must cover the heat load plus a safety margin.
Capacity is not a fixed number: the same unit removes less heat as the room temperature drops and as the outside air gets warmer. When reading a catalogue figure, check which room and ambient temperatures it is given for.
The selection is made with a margin on top of the calculated heat load. An undersized unit cannot pull the room down to temperature. An oversized unit short-cycles.