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

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

4 tons central AC or heat pump, about 43,900 BTU/hr of load

Here the 20 BTU per square foot chart lands close: 3.5 tons against a load of 3.7 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 546 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 22 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Stillhouse Hollow Dam (9.5 mi away). Aug is the hottest month, averaging a high of 96°F and a low of 71.8°F, with about 118 days a year at 90°F or more. That gives a design temperature of 104°F against 75°F inside.

What it costs to run

About 3,877 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $621 at Texas's average residential rate of 16.03¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 7 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Temple

Of the 43,900 BTU/hr, 20,880 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 104°F afternoon (48%), 13,000 is sun on the house (30%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 7,900 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Temple'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 36,000 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Temple

Single rooms with a window or mini-split unit: a 150 sq ft bedroom needs about 3,300 BTU/hr; a 350 sq ft living room needs about 7,700 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 13,200 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Temple

Aug alone uses 22% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,262 hours a year at full output.

Temple against nearby cities

Of 252 Texas cities here, Temple has the 202nd highest cooling load. The range runs from Levelland at 37,300 BTU/hr to Laredo at 51,500.

Where Temple's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Stillhouse Hollow Dam, 9.5 miles from the center of Temple at 706 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Temple's summers.

1 other city uses the same station and get the same climate inputs. The closest to Temple: Belton (6 mi away, 3.1 mi from the station). Temple is farther from the station than 1 of them.

The sun over Temple in late July

At 31.10°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 79.3° above the horizon over Temple and the day runs 13 h 44 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.

96,267 people live in Temple, the 45th largest of the 252 Texas cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 31.1049, -97.3885.

Temple AC sizing questions