What size AC for Pensacola, FL? 3.5 tons for 2,000 sq ft

What size AC a 2,000 sq ft house in Pensacola 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 Pensacola Regional Airport (2.4 mi away). Jul is the hottest month, averaging a high of 91.6°F and a low of 75.3°F, with about 68 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 4,624 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $708 at Florida's average residential rate of 15.32¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 9 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Pensacola

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 Pensacola'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 Pensacola

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 Pensacola

Jul alone uses 19% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,606 hours a year at full output.

Pensacola against nearby cities

Of 173 Florida cities here, Pensacola has the 82nd highest cooling load. The range runs from Miami Shores at 36,500 BTU/hr to Plant City at 44,900.

Where Pensacola's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Pensacola Regional Airport, 2.4 miles from the center of Pensacola at 118 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Pensacola's summers.

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

The sun over Pensacola in late July

At 30.44°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 80.0° above the horizon over Pensacola and the day runs 13 h 41 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.

53,898 people live in Pensacola, the 58th largest of the 173 Florida cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 30.4410, -87.1912.

Pensacola AC sizing questions