What size AC for Port Neches, TX? 4 tons for 2,000 sq ft

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

4 tons central AC or heat pump, about 43,100 BTU/hr of load

Here the 20 BTU per square foot chart lands close: 3.5 tons against a load of 3.6 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 557 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 21.5 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Port Arthur Se Tx Regional Airport (3.9 mi away). Aug is the hottest month, averaging a high of 93.1°F and a low of 74.4°F, with about 93 days a year at 90°F or more. That gives a design temperature of 100°F against 75°F inside.

What it costs to run

About 4,831 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $774 at Texas's average residential rate of 16.03¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 9 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Port Neches

Of the 43,100 BTU/hr, 18,000 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 100°F afternoon (42%), 13,000 is sun on the house (30%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 9,900 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Port Neches'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 33,120 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Port Neches

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 7,500 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 12,900 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Port Neches

Aug alone uses 19% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,605 hours a year at full output.

Port Neches against nearby cities

Of 252 Texas cities here, Port Neches has the 213th highest cooling load. The range runs from Levelland at 37,300 BTU/hr to Laredo at 51,500.

Where Port Neches's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Port Arthur Se Tx Regional Airport, 3.9 miles from the center of Port Neches at 13 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Port Neches's summers.

5 other cities use the same station and get the same climate inputs. The closest to Port Neches: Nederland (2 mi away, 1.9 mi from the station), Groves (3 mi away, 6.6 mi from the station), Port Arthur (6 mi away, 8.7 mi from the station), Beaumont (14 mi away, 11.6 mi from the station), Orange (17 mi away, 20.1 mi from the station). Port Neches is farther from the station than 1 of them.

The sun over Port Neches in late July

At 29.96°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 80.4° above the horizon over Port Neches and the day runs 13 h 39 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.

13,709 people live in Port Neches, the 203rd largest of the 252 Texas cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 29.9608, -93.9618.

Port Neches AC sizing questions