What size AC for Cedar City, UT? 3 tons for 2,000 sq ft

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

3 tons central AC or heat pump, about 31,500 BTU/hr of load

The 20 BTU per square foot chart would put in 3.5 tons, about 34% more than this climate needs. An oversized unit cools the air fast, shuts off before it pulls moisture out, and leaves the house cold and clammy.

If a contractor quotes you more than 3 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 763 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 15.7 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Cedar City Airport (1.6 mi away). Jul is the hottest month, averaging a high of 91°F and a low of 57.1°F, with about 44 days a year at 90°F or more. That gives a design temperature of 96°F against 75°F inside.

What it costs to run

About 852 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $112 at Utah's average residential rate of 13.19¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 3 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Cedar City

Of the 31,500 BTU/hr, 15,120 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 96°F afternoon (48%), 13,000 is sun on the house (41%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 1,200 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Cedar City's summer air (4%).

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 30,240 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Cedar City

Single rooms with a window or mini-split unit: a 150 sq ft bedroom needs about 2,400 BTU/hr; a 350 sq ft living room needs about 5,500 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 9,400 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Cedar City

Jul alone uses 42% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 387 hours a year at full output.

Cedar City against nearby cities

Of 67 Utah cities here, Cedar City has the 64th highest cooling load. The range runs from Heber at 30,700 BTU/hr to St. George at 49,200.

Where Cedar City's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Cedar City Airport, 1.6 miles from the center of Cedar City at 5,590 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Cedar City's summers.

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

The sun over Cedar City in late July

At 37.68°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 72.7° above the horizon over Cedar City and the day runs 14 h 14 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.

40,885 people live in Cedar City, the 25th largest of the 67 Utah cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 37.6838, -113.0956.

Cedar City AC sizing questions