What size AC for Hurricane, UT? 4 tons for 2,000 sq ft

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

4 tons central AC or heat pump, about 43,100 BTU/hr of load

Here the 20 BTU per square foot chart lands close: 3.5 tons against a load of 3.6 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 557 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 21.5 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at La Verkin (6.1 mi away). Jul is the hottest month, averaging a high of 98.3°F and a low of 67.6°F, with about 118 days a year at 90°F or more. That gives a design temperature of 106°F against 75°F inside.

What it costs to run

About 2,702 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $356 at Utah's average residential rate of 13.19¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 5 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Hurricane

Of the 43,100 BTU/hr, 22,320 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 106°F afternoon (52%), 13,000 is sun on the house (30%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 5,600 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Hurricane's summer air (13%).

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 37,440 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Hurricane

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 7,500 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 12,900 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Hurricane

Jul alone uses 29% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 897 hours a year at full output.

Hurricane against nearby cities

Of 67 Utah cities here, Hurricane has the 4th highest cooling load. The range runs from Heber at 30,700 BTU/hr to St. George at 49,200.

Where Hurricane's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is La Verkin, 6.1 miles from the center of Hurricane at 3,194 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Hurricane's summers.

No other city in this set uses La Verkin, so this sizing is Hurricane's alone.

The sun over Hurricane in late July

At 37.15°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 73.3° above the horizon over Hurricane and the day runs 14 h 11 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.

24,753 people live in Hurricane, the 40th largest of the 67 Utah cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 37.1485, -113.3589.

Hurricane AC sizing questions