What size AC for Tulsa, OK? 4 tons for 2,000 sq ft

What size AC a 2,000 sq ft house in Tulsa 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 Tulsa International Airport (5.1 mi away). Jul is the hottest month, averaging a high of 93.6°F and a low of 73.1°F, with about 74 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 3,343 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $462 at Oklahoma's average residential rate of 13.81¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 7 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Tulsa

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 Tulsa'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 Tulsa

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 Tulsa

Jul alone uses 27% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,110 hours a year at full output.

Tulsa against nearby cities

Of 45 Oklahoma cities here, Tulsa has the 17th highest cooling load. The range runs from Miami at 35,600 BTU/hr to Ardmore at 44,900.

Where Tulsa's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Tulsa International Airport, 5.1 miles from the center of Tulsa at 639 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Tulsa's summers.

1 other city uses the same station and get the same climate inputs. The closest to Tulsa: Owasso (12 mi away, 6.6 mi from the station). Tulsa sits closer to the station than any of them, so its numbers are the best measured of the group.

The sun over Tulsa in late July

At 36.13°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 74.3° above the horizon over Tulsa and the day runs 14 h 06 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.

415,154 people live in Tulsa, the 2nd largest of the 45 Oklahoma cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 36.1279, -95.9023.

Tulsa AC sizing questions