What size AC for Hilton Head Island, SC? 3.5 tons for 2,000 sq ft

What size AC a 2,000 sq ft house in Hilton Head Island needs

3.5 tons central AC or heat pump, about 41,200 BTU/hr of load

Here the 20 BTU per square foot chart lands close: 3.5 tons against a load of 3.4 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 583 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 20.6 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Beaufort Mcas (20.3 mi away). Jul is the hottest month, averaging a high of 91.8°F and a low of 74.5°F, with about 73 days a year at 90°F or more. That gives a design temperature of 98°F against 75°F inside.

What it costs to run

About 4,038 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $642 at South Carolina's average residential rate of 15.9¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 7 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Hilton Head Island

Of the 41,200 BTU/hr, 16,560 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 98°F afternoon (40%), 13,000 is sun on the house (32%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 9,500 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Hilton Head Island'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 31,680 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Hilton Head Island

Single rooms with a window or mini-split unit: a 150 sq ft bedroom needs about 3,100 BTU/hr; a 350 sq ft living room needs about 7,200 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 12,400 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Hilton Head Island

Jul alone uses 22% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,402 hours a year at full output.

Hilton Head Island against nearby cities

Of 42 South Carolina cities here, Hilton Head Island has the 12th highest cooling load. The range runs from Gaffney at 32,300 BTU/hr to Columbia at 43,100.

Where Hilton Head Island's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Beaufort Mcas, 20.3 miles from the center of Hilton Head Island at 37 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Hilton Head Island's summers.

2 other cities use the same station and get the same climate inputs. The closest to Hilton Head Island: Port Royal (12 mi away, 8.9 mi from the station), Beaufort (19 mi away, 1.8 mi from the station). Hilton Head Island is farther from the station than 2 of them.

The sun over Hilton Head Island in late July

At 32.19°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 78.2° above the horizon over Hilton Head Island and the day runs 13 h 48 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.

38,158 people live in Hilton Head Island, the 14th largest of the 42 South Carolina cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 32.1903, -80.7384.

Hilton Head Island AC sizing questions