What is Best Easy to Heat 2000sf 2 Story
Who's really cooling 2000 sq ft with 3 tons?
In reading some posts here there seem to be a number of pros who think the 1ton/500sqft is overkill. The 3 contractors who quoted replacement systems to me all insist the rule is correct. My original system was 4 tons so i have no way of knowing if 3 tons will cool effectively.I live in LA area of Calif and summers here are moderate. My home is 2 story, 2000 ft2, on a 35 x 42 ft concrete slab, 1980 build with insulated stucco walls, insulated attic with insulated flex ducts running thru it for upper floor supply, typical amount of windows (replaced with double pane). All in all typical for what was built 33 yrs ago.
So on a practical basis who has first hand experience which proves that 3 tons will effectively cool a home of this size and construction? And on the flip side, does anyone have a word of caution about deviating from the 1ton/500 rule for my particular home?
Got some that are 800 plus sq ft per ton. Some 2000 sq ft are on a 2.5 ton. They are shaded though, by some big trees. 2 story homes don't need as much tonnage as a single story of the same time period and construction materials.Did/does your old 4 ton have to run 24/7 on the hottest days.
my clients are cooling 700 to 1,000 sq ft per ton.it can be done, but house needs to be tight and well
insulated.if hvac company doesn't support sizing by load calc, they
certainly won't install unit with more than 500 sf per ton.best of luck
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It probably is about the right size. A 4 ton might cool it a little faster. If you also increase your duct size, and add more registers.
If that's the way you normally operate it, I most likely would stick with units in the same size range. I have an old 2 story farm house with upgrades. It's just a tick over 1800sq ft and I have a 2.5 ton 10 SEER unit that still cycles on and off on high 90* days. I do have shading and don't turn it off once I do start using it. We keep it set at 73 and forget about it.
A good HVAC tech knows how, an educated HVAC tech knows why!
DEM
The 500-sf per ton is outdated & irrational; Square footage does NOT indicate heat-gain Rate or, any of the many other factors that affect Btuh loads.If a 2000-sf home in Irvine CA; LA @89F dry bulb & 70F wet bulb, a hair over 38% RH, needs 4-ton, a lot of things need working on.
Think about all the simple things you can do to lower the heat-gain rate...
With some thoughtful ideas for reducing the heat-load a 2.5 to 3-Ton system ought to cool it.
We in SW WI have about the same dry bulb with a +48% RH to deal with & some even larger homes are cooled with 2-Ton systems.A number of years ago, I had quite a few email me concerning that reality; Nor were these extra efficiency homes.
I cool my first floor with a small half-ton window unit, with a fan to circulate the air through 3 rooms & a hallway back to the unit.
My 1937 farm home, with a lot of windows, that I have photos of on my web pages; that little Half-Ton cools over 1300-sf per Ton!
It does the job perfectly at all temps & humidity levels; may have reach 77F on a rare occasion & up-to 55%RH in Extreme RECORD heat with Record Heat Indexes!
I would never use anyone that sizes homes based on 500-sf per ton!
You can't find anyone to do load-calcs...
It won't cost you anything to do some load-calcs on your home...
One of my happiest customers is one that let me put a 2 ton 2 stage heat pump system in his 2000 sq ft house, against the advice of his GC, but it's a fully foam insulated house.In your climate, if you need 1 ton/500 sq ft to cool the house, you need to look into improving your thermal envelope.
Adlerberts-Protege, this is the Ask Our Pro's forum, and only Pro members that have been vetted by the AOPC may post advise, commentary or ask questions of the OP here.You can find the rules for posting and qualifications here.
Your post has been deleted.
No Infiltration was figured!
Originally Posted by cjccmc
Thanks all for your inputs, I really appreciate the help.
Udarrell: thanks for the link to the load calc page. I made some window and door measurements and input those. Wow! 50k btu with about 13k lost thru the attic ducts. Could you give this a quick look and see if I make any gross errors? Attached are views of the results and a view of my house looking east. thanks!
You have to CLICK-ON The CALCULATOR & use the box that figures the infiltration CFM; use 0.45 ACH (Air Changes per Hour) & put the CFM in the blank above that you left vacant, where is says Fresh Air then > ____ CFM.That will change the sensible total & should increase the Latent total.
What did you use for the DUCTS? Sounds like too much loss...!
LA CA is 89F dry bulb; NOT 100F; also that grains of moisture difference at only 17 looks too low to me; but I could be wrong as it is drier out there.
Is the attic only an R-11; seems it should be at least an R-30 or 38?
Figure the cubic feet; 8' ceilings? * 2000 is 16,000 cu.ft. * just enter.45 ACH (is 7200-infiltration) BUT just let the calculator figure the CFMShow the new results...
Last edited by udarrell; 06-30-2013 at 11:56 PM.
2800 sq ft 3and 3/4 ton and 123* today maintaining 72* I'm having Low E windows put in tomorrow.
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cooling my house, 2 story @ 1600 each floor, with a 3 ton 2 stage unit.We had 95� today and will be 100�+ this week and it will do just fine.
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Source: https://hvac-talk.com/vbb/threads/1344151-Who-s-really-cooling-2000-sq-ft-with-3-tons
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