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

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

4 tons central AC or heat pump, about 42,200 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 569 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 Minden (1.6 mi away). Aug is the hottest month, averaging a high of 94.7°F and a low of 71.9°F, with about 88 days a year at 90°F or more. That gives a design temperature of 102°F against 75°F inside.

What it costs to run

About 3,717 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $493 at Louisiana's average residential rate of 13.27¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 7 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Minden

Of the 42,200 BTU/hr, 19,440 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 102°F afternoon (46%), 13,000 is sun on the house (31%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 7,600 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Minden'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 34,560 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Minden

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 Minden

Jul alone uses 23% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,261 hours a year at full output.

Minden against nearby cities

Of 35 Louisiana cities here, Minden has the 7th highest cooling load. The range runs from Covington at 37,800 BTU/hr to Natchitoches at 45,900.

Where Minden's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Minden, 1.6 miles from the center of Minden at 185 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Minden's summers.

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

The sun over Minden in late July

At 32.62°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 77.8° above the horizon over Minden and the day runs 13 h 50 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.

11,195 people live in Minden, the 32nd largest of the 35 Louisiana cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 32.6191, -93.2728.

Minden AC sizing questions