What size AC for Fresno, CA? 4 tons for 2,000 sq ft

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

4 tons central AC or heat pump, about 44,800 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 536 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 22.4 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Fresno Yosemite International (4 mi away). Jul is the hottest month, averaging a high of 97.7°F and a low of 69.3°F, with about 113 days a year at 90°F or more. That gives a design temperature of 105°F against 75°F inside.

What it costs to run

About 3,257 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $1,061 at California's average residential rate of 32.58¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 6 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Fresno

Of the 44,800 BTU/hr, 21,600 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 105°F afternoon (48%), 13,000 is sun on the house (29%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 8,100 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Fresno's summer air (18%).

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 36,720 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Fresno

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 7,800 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 13,400 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Fresno

Jul alone uses 26% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,040 hours a year at full output.

Fresno against nearby cities

Of 376 California cities here, Fresno has the 24th highest cooling load. The range runs from Corte Madera at 15,700 BTU/hr to Palm Desert at 59,000.

Where Fresno's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Fresno Yosemite International, 4 miles from the center of Fresno at 334 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Fresno's summers.

5 other cities use the same station and get the same climate inputs. The closest to Fresno: Clovis (7 mi away, 3.9 mi from the station), Sanger (14 mi away, 10.5 mi from the station), Selma (18 mi away, 15.5 mi from the station), Parlier (18 mi away, 15.3 mi from the station), Reedley (23 mi away, 19.6 mi from the station). Fresno is farther from the station than 1 of them.

The sun over Fresno in late July

At 36.78°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 73.6° above the horizon over Fresno and the day runs 14 h 09 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.

550,105 people live in Fresno, the 5th largest of the 376 California cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 36.7827, -119.7934.

Fresno AC sizing questions