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

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

4 tons central AC or heat pump, about 42,100 BTU/hr of load

Here the 20 BTU per square foot chart lands close: 3.5 tons against a load of 3.5 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 570 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 21.1 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Baton Rouge Metro Airport (26.1 mi away). Aug is the hottest month, averaging a high of 92.2°F and a low of 73.3°F, with about 96 days a year at 90°F or more. That gives a design temperature of 99°F against 75°F inside.

What it costs to run

About 4,427 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $588 at Louisiana's average residential rate of 13.27¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 8 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Gonzales

Of the 42,100 BTU/hr, 17,280 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 99°F afternoon (41%), 13,000 is sun on the house (31%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 9,700 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Gonzales'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 32,400 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Gonzales

Single rooms with a window or mini-split unit: a 150 sq ft bedroom needs about 3,200 BTU/hr; a 350 sq ft living room needs about 7,400 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 12,700 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Gonzales

Jul alone uses 20% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,503 hours a year at full output.

Gonzales against nearby cities

Of 35 Louisiana cities here, Gonzales has the 17th highest cooling load. The range runs from Covington at 37,800 BTU/hr to Natchitoches at 45,900.

Where Gonzales's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Baton Rouge Metro Airport, 26.1 miles from the center of Gonzales at 67 ft above sea level. That is a long way for a weather station, so treat the design day as approximate: a city on the coast side or the high side of the station can run several degrees different.

4 other cities use the same station and get the same climate inputs. The closest to Gonzales: Baton Rouge (20 mi away, 6.7 mi from the station), Central (25 mi away, 6.8 mi from the station), Baker (29 mi away, 3.2 mi from the station), Zachary (34 mi away, 8.8 mi from the station). Gonzales is farther from the station than 4 of them.

The sun over Gonzales in late July

At 30.21°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 80.2° above the horizon over Gonzales and the day runs 13 h 40 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.

13,837 people live in Gonzales, the 25th largest of the 35 Louisiana cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 30.2127, -90.9224.

Gonzales AC sizing questions