What size AC for Muscle Shoals, AL? 3.5 tons for 2,000 sq ft

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

3.5 tons central AC or heat pump, about 38,700 BTU/hr of load

Here the 20 BTU per square foot chart lands close: 3.5 tons against a load of 3.2 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 621 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 19.3 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Muscle Shoals Airport (1.9 mi away). Jul is the hottest month, averaging a high of 91.6°F and a low of 71.4°F, with about 69 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 3,090 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $510 at Alabama's average residential rate of 16.51¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 7 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Muscle Shoals

Of the 38,700 BTU/hr, 16,560 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 98°F afternoon (43%), 13,000 is sun on the house (34%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 7,000 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Muscle Shoals'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 31,680 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Muscle Shoals

Single rooms with a window or mini-split unit: a 150 sq ft bedroom needs about 2,900 BTU/hr; a 350 sq ft living room needs about 6,800 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 11,600 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Muscle Shoals

Jul alone uses 24% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,143 hours a year at full output.

Muscle Shoals against nearby cities

Of 66 Alabama cities here, Muscle Shoals has the 29th highest cooling load. The range runs from Boaz at 30,600 BTU/hr to Montgomery at 44,000.

Where Muscle Shoals's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Muscle Shoals Airport, 1.9 miles from the center of Muscle Shoals at 544 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Muscle Shoals's summers.

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

The sun over Muscle Shoals in late July

At 34.74°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 75.7° above the horizon over Muscle Shoals and the day runs 13 h 60 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.

17,409 people live in Muscle Shoals, the 38th largest of the 66 Alabama cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 34.7427, -87.6338.

Muscle Shoals AC sizing questions