Originally Posted By: wfaulk
I find out that air conditioners in the US are typically set to provide only 20° of cooling, which is why my thermostat never reached its set at 72°.


While I'm not an expert in the field, surely the units power rating dictates its cooling capacity. Chillers I've bought for projects are described as having x-kW's of cooling capacity and are specified by the contactors based on the power consumption of the equipment to be cooled.

EDIT: Or are you talking about the maximum temperature differential between the 'hot' and 'cold' sides of the system?
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Cheers,

Andy M