What Size AC Do I Need in Florida?
A Manual-J-lite sizing tool for Florida homes. It estimates BTUs and tons, then flags homes that need a field Manual J before equipment is selected.
Most Florida homes land near 1 ton per 500-600 square feet, but ceiling height, insulation, windows, sun, and county humidity can move the result.
Why this matters
Use this before replacing an AC so the quote conversation starts with load, humidity, and duct fit instead of a guessed tonnage.
The public-safe rule
This page gives an educational planning result. Final quote, rebate, payment, package, and installer details wait until the customer and home record are saved inside the assessment flow.
Start exact assessmentRun the numbers.
43,025 BTU/h estimated cooling load
Plan around a 3.5-ton AC, then verify with a field Manual J.
Estimated tons
3.5 tons
Total load
43,025 BTU/h
Sensible load
34,420 BTU/h
Latent load
8,605 BTU/h
Block load: 32,400 BTU envelope + 2,020 BTU internal = 34,420 BTU sensible. Latent at 25% adds 8,605 BTU. Total 43,025 BTU → 3.5 ton.
Use this as a planning size before comparing contractor proposals.
Ask every quote to explain humidity control, duct airflow, and why the selected tonnage fits.
This is a planning estimate, not a final quote or engineering report. Field conditions, permits, equipment selection, ducts, electrical work, and installer verification can change the result.
How this estimate is grounded.
The visible result, assumptions, and schema match. Structured data does not claim anything that is not also shown on the page.