What size AC for Panama City Beach, FL? 3.5 tons for 2,000 sq ft

What size AC a 2,000 sq ft house in Panama City Beach needs

3.5 tons central AC or heat pump, about 41,200 BTU/hr of load

Here the 20 BTU per square foot chart lands close: 3.5 tons against a load of 3.4 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 583 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 20.6 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Nw Florida Beaches International Airport (9.6 mi away). Jul is the hottest month, averaging a high of 90.9°F and a low of 73.4°F, with about 88 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 4,117 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $631 at Florida's average residential rate of 15.32¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 7 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Panama City Beach

Of the 41,200 BTU/hr, 16,560 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 98°F afternoon (40%), 13,000 is sun on the house (32%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 9,500 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Panama City Beach's summer air (23%).

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 Panama City Beach

Single rooms with a window or mini-split unit: a 150 sq ft bedroom needs about 3,100 BTU/hr; a 350 sq ft living room needs about 7,200 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 12,400 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Panama City Beach

Jul alone uses 20% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,430 hours a year at full output.

Panama City Beach against nearby cities

Of 173 Florida cities here, Panama City Beach has the 94th highest cooling load. The range runs from Miami Shores at 36,500 BTU/hr to Plant City at 44,900.

Where Panama City Beach's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Nw Florida Beaches International Airport, 9.6 miles from the center of Panama City Beach at 56 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Panama City Beach's summers.

No other city in this set uses Nw Florida Beaches International Airport, so this sizing is Panama City Beach's alone.

The sun over Panama City Beach in late July

At 30.23°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 80.2° above the horizon over Panama City Beach and the day runs 13 h 40 min from sunrise to sunset. With the sun that close to overhead, the roof takes most of the heat at midday and the west wall takes the rest after 3 pm. Shorter days give the house a longer night to shed the day's heat.

19,955 people live in Panama City Beach, the 121st largest of the 173 Florida cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 30.2332, -85.8771.

Panama City Beach AC sizing questions