What size AC for Kingman, AZ? 4 tons for 2,000 sq ft

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

4 tons central AC or heat pump, about 45,700 BTU/hr of load

Here the 20 BTU per square foot chart lands close: 3.5 tons against a load of 3.8 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 525 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 22.8 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Kingman Airport (5.1 mi away). Jul is the hottest month, averaging a high of 98.7°F and a low of 70°F, with about 114 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 3,205 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $492 at Arizona's average residential rate of 15.36¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 6 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Kingman

Of the 45,700 BTU/hr, 22,320 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 106°F afternoon (49%), 13,000 is sun on the house (28%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 8,200 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Kingman'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 37,440 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Kingman

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 8,000 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 13,700 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Kingman

Jul alone uses 28% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,003 hours a year at full output.

Kingman against nearby cities

Of 44 Arizona cities here, Kingman has the 32nd highest cooling load. The range runs from Flagstaff at 24,000 BTU/hr to Bullhead City at 60,800.

Where Kingman's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Kingman Airport, 5.1 miles from the center of Kingman at 3,423 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Kingman's summers.

No other city in this set uses Kingman Airport, so this sizing is Kingman's alone.

The sun over Kingman in late July

At 35.22°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 75.2° above the horizon over Kingman and the day runs 14 h 02 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.

35,383 people live in Kingman, the 30th largest of the 44 Arizona cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 35.2170, -114.0105.

Kingman AC sizing questions