What size AC for Visalia, CA? 3.5 tons for 2,000 sq ft

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

3.5 tons central AC or heat pump, about 38,900 BTU/hr of load

Here the 20 BTU per square foot chart lands close: 3.5 tons against a load of 3.2 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 617 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 19.5 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Visalia (1.5 mi away). Jul is the hottest month, averaging a high of 93.8°F and a low of 66.7°F, with about 95 days a year at 90°F or more. That gives a design temperature of 101°F against 75°F inside.

What it costs to run

About 2,422 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $789 at California's average residential rate of 32.58¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 6 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Visalia

Of the 38,900 BTU/hr, 18,720 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 101°F afternoon (48%), 13,000 is sun on the house (33%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 5,100 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Visalia's summer air (13%).

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 33,840 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Visalia

Single rooms with a window or mini-split unit: a 150 sq ft bedroom needs about 2,900 BTU/hr; a 350 sq ft living room needs about 6,800 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 11,700 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Visalia

Jul alone uses 27% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 890 hours a year at full output.

Visalia against nearby cities

Of 376 California cities here, Visalia has the 74th highest cooling load. The range runs from Corte Madera at 15,700 BTU/hr to Palm Desert at 59,000.

Where Visalia's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Visalia, 1.5 miles from the center of Visalia at 303 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Visalia's summers.

1 other city uses the same station and get the same climate inputs. The closest to Visalia: Farmersville (7 mi away, 5.3 mi from the station). Visalia sits closer to the station than any of them, so its numbers are the best measured of the group.

The sun over Visalia in late July

At 36.33°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 74.1° above the horizon over Visalia and the day runs 14 h 07 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.

146,271 people live in Visalia, the 40th largest of the 376 California cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 36.3292, -119.3270.

Visalia AC sizing questions