What size AC for Hattiesburg, MS? 3.5 tons for 2,000 sq ft

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

3.5 tons central AC or heat pump, about 39,500 BTU/hr of load

Here the 20 BTU per square foot chart lands close: 3.5 tons against a load of 3.3 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 607 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 19.8 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Hattiesburg Chain Municipal Airport (4.5 mi away). Aug is the hottest month, averaging a high of 91.8°F and a low of 71.8°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 3,654 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $550 at Mississippi's average residential rate of 15.06¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 7 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Hattiesburg

Of the 39,500 BTU/hr, 17,280 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 99°F afternoon (44%), 13,000 is sun on the house (33%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 7,100 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Hattiesburg'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 32,400 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Hattiesburg

Single rooms with a window or mini-split unit: a 150 sq ft bedroom needs about 3,000 BTU/hr; a 350 sq ft living room needs about 6,900 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 11,900 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Hattiesburg

Jul alone uses 21% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,322 hours a year at full output.

Hattiesburg against nearby cities

Of 41 Mississippi cities here, Hattiesburg has the 27th highest cooling load. The range runs from Brookhaven at 36,900 BTU/hr to Columbus at 44,000.

Where Hattiesburg's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Hattiesburg Chain Municipal Airport, 4.5 miles from the center of Hattiesburg at 147 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Hattiesburg's summers.

1 other city uses the same station and get the same climate inputs. The closest to Hattiesburg: Petal (6 mi away, 5.6 mi from the station). Hattiesburg sits closer to the station than any of them, so its numbers are the best measured of the group.

The sun over Hattiesburg in late July

At 31.31°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 79.1° above the horizon over Hattiesburg and the day runs 13 h 45 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.

48,522 people live in Hattiesburg, the 4th largest of the 41 Mississippi cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 31.3073, -89.3174.

Hattiesburg AC sizing questions