What size AC for Bossier City, LA? 4 tons for 2,000 sq ft

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

4 tons central AC or heat pump, about 44,900 BTU/hr of load

Here the 20 BTU per square foot chart lands close: 3.5 tons against a load of 3.7 tons. This is one of the climates the chart was written for.

If a contractor quotes you more than 4 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 534 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 22.5 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Shreveport Dwtn Airport (5.4 mi away). Aug is the hottest month, averaging a high of 95°F and a low of 75.1°F, with about 96 days a year at 90°F or more. That gives a design temperature of 102°F against 75°F inside.

What it costs to run

About 4,546 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $603 at Louisiana's average residential rate of 13.27¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 7 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Bossier City

Of the 44,900 BTU/hr, 19,440 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 102°F afternoon (43%), 13,000 is sun on the house (29%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 10,400 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Bossier City'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 34,560 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Bossier City

Single rooms with a window or mini-split unit: a 150 sq ft bedroom needs about 3,400 BTU/hr; a 350 sq ft living room needs about 7,900 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 13,500 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Bossier City

Jul alone uses 22% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,447 hours a year at full output.

Bossier City against nearby cities

Of 35 Louisiana cities here, Bossier City has the 3rd highest cooling load. The range runs from Covington at 37,800 BTU/hr to Natchitoches at 45,900.

Where Bossier City's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Shreveport Dwtn Airport, 5.4 miles from the center of Bossier City at 171 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Bossier City's summers.

No other city in this set uses Shreveport Dwtn Airport, so this sizing is Bossier City's alone.

The sun over Bossier City in late July

At 32.52°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 77.9° above the horizon over Bossier City and the day runs 13 h 50 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.

63,218 people live in Bossier City, the 7th largest of the 35 Louisiana cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 32.5237, -93.6554.

Bossier City AC sizing questions