What size AC for Arlington, TN? 3.5 tons for 2,000 sq ft

What size AC a 2,000 sq ft house in Arlington needs

3.5 tons central AC or heat pump, about 41,200 BTU/hr of load

Here the 20 BTU per square foot chart lands close: 3.5 tons against a load of 3.4 tons. This is one of the climates the chart was written for.

If a contractor quotes you more than 3.5 tons for an average 2,000 sq ft house here, ask to see the Manual J load calculation behind it before you sign. That works out to one ton per 583 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 20.6 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Memphis International Airport (22.8 mi away). Jul is the hottest month, averaging a high of 91.9°F and a low of 73.6°F, with about 72 days a year at 90°F or more. That gives a design temperature of 98°F against 75°F inside.

What it costs to run

About 3,635 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $502 at Tennessee's average residential rate of 13.8¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 7 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Arlington

Of the 41,200 BTU/hr, 16,560 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 98°F afternoon (40%), 13,000 is sun on the house (32%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 9,500 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Arlington's summer air (23%).

Heat through the shell is the biggest share here, so insulation and air sealing cut the size you need more than shading would. Sensible heat totals 31,680 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Arlington

Single rooms with a window or mini-split unit: a 150 sq ft bedroom needs about 3,100 BTU/hr; a 350 sq ft living room needs about 7,200 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 12,400 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Arlington

Jul alone uses 24% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,262 hours a year at full output.

Arlington against nearby cities

Of 65 Tennessee cities here, Arlington has the 5th highest cooling load. The range runs from Crossville at 27,300 BTU/hr to Memphis at 41,200.

Where Arlington's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Memphis International Airport, 22.8 miles from the center of Arlington at 251 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Arlington's summers.

10 other cities use the same station and get the same climate inputs. The closest to Arlington: Lakeland (4 mi away, 20.5 mi from the station), Bartlett (9 mi away, 15.5 mi from the station), Germantown (14 mi away, 11.7 mi from the station), Collierville (14 mi away, 16.4 mi from the station), Millington (15 mi away, 19.8 mi from the station). Arlington is farther from the station than 10 of them.

The sun over Arlington in late July

At 35.25°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 75.1° above the horizon over Arlington and the day runs 14 h 02 min from sunrise to sunset. A lower noon sun puts more of the day's heat on east and west walls than on the roof, which is why shading west glass pays off here. Shorter days give the house a longer night to shed the day's heat.

15,550 people live in Arlington, the 41st largest of the 65 Tennessee cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 35.2525, -89.6611.

Arlington AC sizing questions