What size AC for Queen Creek, AZ? 5 tons for 2,000 sq ft

What size AC a 2,000 sq ft house in Queen Creek needs

5 tons central AC or heat pump, about 54,300 BTU/hr of load

The 20 BTU per square foot chart would put in 3.5 tons, which falls short here. On a design day the unit runs flat out and the house still drifts above 75°F by late afternoon.

If a contractor quotes you more than 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 442 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 27.1 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Chandler Heights (4.6 mi away). Jul is the hottest month, averaging a high of 104.2°F and a low of 78.5°F, with about 165 days a year at 90°F or more. That gives a design temperature of 112°F against 75°F inside.

What it costs to run

About 5,867 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $901 at Arizona's average residential rate of 15.36¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 7 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Queen Creek

Of the 54,300 BTU/hr, 26,640 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 112°F afternoon (49%), 13,000 is sun on the house (24%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 12,500 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Queen Creek'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 41,760 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Queen Creek

Single rooms with a window or mini-split unit: a 150 sq ft bedroom needs about 4,100 BTU/hr; a 350 sq ft living room needs about 9,500 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 16,300 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Queen Creek

Jul alone uses 22% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,545 hours a year at full output.

Queen Creek against nearby cities

Of 44 Arizona cities here, Queen Creek has the 24th highest cooling load. The range runs from Flagstaff at 24,000 BTU/hr to Bullhead City at 60,800.

Where Queen Creek's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Chandler Heights, 4.6 miles from the center of Queen Creek at 1,425 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Queen Creek's summers.

No other city in this set uses Chandler Heights, so this sizing is Queen Creek's alone.

The sun over Queen Creek in late July

At 33.24°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 77.2° above the horizon over Queen Creek and the day runs 13 h 53 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.

83,781 people live in Queen Creek, the 15th largest of the 44 Arizona cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 33.2394, -111.6133.

Queen Creek AC sizing questions