What size AC for Moreno Valley, CA? 3.5 tons for 2,000 sq ft

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

3.5 tons central AC or heat pump, about 37,300 BTU/hr of load

Here the 20 BTU per square foot chart lands close: 3.5 tons against a load of 3.1 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 643 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 18.7 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at March AFB (3 mi away). Aug is the hottest month, averaging a high of 94.9°F and a low of 61.7°F, with about 100 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 1,936 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $631 at California's average residential rate of 32.58¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 6 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Moreno Valley

Of the 37,300 BTU/hr, 19,440 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 102°F afternoon (52%), 13,000 is sun on the house (35%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 2,800 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Moreno Valley's summer air (8%).

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 Moreno Valley

Single rooms with a window or mini-split unit: a 150 sq ft bedroom needs about 2,800 BTU/hr; a 350 sq ft living room needs about 6,500 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 11,200 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Moreno Valley

Aug alone uses 28% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 742 hours a year at full output.

Moreno Valley against nearby cities

Of 376 California cities here, Moreno Valley has the 96th highest cooling load. The range runs from Corte Madera at 15,700 BTU/hr to Palm Desert at 59,000.

Where Moreno Valley's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is March AFB, 3 miles from the center of Moreno Valley at 1,536 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Moreno Valley's summers.

13 other cities use the same station and get the same climate inputs. The closest to Moreno Valley: Loma Linda (9 mi away, 9.9 mi from the station), Redlands (9 mi away, 11.5 mi from the station), Perris (9 mi away, 7.8 mi from the station), Calimesa (10 mi away, 12.7 mi from the station), Yucaipa (12 mi away, 15 mi from the station). Moreno Valley sits closer to the station than any of them, so its numbers are the best measured of the group.

The sun over Moreno Valley in late July

At 33.92°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 76.5° above the horizon over Moreno Valley and the day runs 13 h 56 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.

213,919 people live in Moreno Valley, the 21st largest of the 376 California cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 33.9233, -117.2057.

Moreno Valley AC sizing questions