What size AC for Cape Canaveral, FL? 3.5 tons for 2,000 sq ft

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

3.5 tons central AC or heat pump, about 37,400 BTU/hr of load

Here the 20 BTU per square foot chart lands close: 3.5 tons against a load of 3.1 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 641 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 18.7 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Titusville 7 E (16.3 mi away). Aug is the hottest month, averaging a high of 89°F and a low of 73.5°F, with about 42 days a year at 90°F or more. That gives a design temperature of 94°F against 75°F inside.

What it costs to run

About 4,713 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $722 at Florida's average residential rate of 15.32¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 11 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Cape Canaveral

Of the 37,400 BTU/hr, 13,680 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 94°F afternoon (37%), 13,000 is sun on the house (35%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 8,600 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Cape Canaveral'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 28,800 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Cape Canaveral

Single rooms with a window or mini-split unit: a 150 sq ft bedroom needs about 2,800 BTU/hr; a 350 sq ft living room needs about 6,500 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 11,200 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Cape Canaveral

Aug alone uses 17% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,800 hours a year at full output.

Cape Canaveral against nearby cities

Of 173 Florida cities here, Cape Canaveral has the 167th highest cooling load. The range runs from Miami Shores at 36,500 BTU/hr to Plant City at 44,900.

Where Cape Canaveral's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Titusville 7 E, 16.3 miles from the center of Cape Canaveral at 3 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Cape Canaveral's summers.

2 other cities use the same station and get the same climate inputs. The closest to Cape Canaveral: Cocoa (10 mi away, 17.1 mi from the station), Titusville (18 mi away, 8.2 mi from the station). Cape Canaveral is farther from the station than 1 of them.

The sun over Cape Canaveral in late July

At 28.39°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 82.0° above the horizon over Cape Canaveral and the day runs 13 h 33 min from sunrise to sunset. With the sun that close to overhead, the roof takes most of the heat at midday and the west wall takes the rest after 3 pm. Shorter days give the house a longer night to shed the day's heat.

10,014 people live in Cape Canaveral, the 173rd largest of the 173 Florida cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 28.3932, -80.6048.

Cape Canaveral AC sizing questions