AC size and cost for a 2,000 square foot home in Florida

What it costs

System	Published range, installed	Average
Central AC	$5,800 to $14,400	$8,750
Heat pump	$5,000 to $15,000	$8,350
Ductless mini split	$4,577 to $8,328	$6,357

National figures from Fixr, not local averages and not our quote.

About 80% of homes in the Crestview ZIPs heat with electricity, so most replacement quotes here are for a heat pump rather than straight AC with heat strips. Ask for both if you're not sure which you have.

Inside those ranges, price mostly follows the rest of the job: whether the air handler is replaced too, the SEER2 rating and any duct work. The permit and how hard the air handler is to reach matter too. Quotes on the same house can differ by thousands for those reasons. Our quote guide lists what each bid should itemize.

Tons vs a load calculation

AC size is measured in tons. One ton is 12,000 Btu per hour of cooling. Square-foot rules of thumb, including the one This Old House publishes, are a fine way to check whether a quote is in the right neighborhood. They are not a way to size the system.

The DOE says size should come from a load calculation, the Manual J method, which works out how much heat gets into and out of that particular house. Two 2,000 square foot houses on the same Crestview street can need different sizes. Ask whether they did one and ask to see it. "Your old one was 4 tons so the new one is 4 tons" is a guess, and the old one may have been wrong.

Heating load matters here

This is the part South Florida sizing advice leaves out. NOAA climate division data puts this metro at about 2,595 cooling degree days and 1,586 heating degree days a year. That's still a cooling climate, but winter is real. The January average low at Bob Sikes Airport is 38°F, against 47°F at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach airport.

For a heat pump, that means the load calculation should report a heating number as well as a cooling number. A unit sized only for July can lean hard on its electric heat strips on a cold January morning in Crestview or Baker, and heat strips are the expensive way to heat. Ask what outdoor temperature the heat pump can carry the house to before the strips come on, and what size strips they're quoting.

Why bigger is not better for cooling

An oversized AC cools the house fast and shuts off. The problem is moisture. An AC removes water only while it runs long enough for the coil to get cold and drain. A system that short cycles cools the air without drying it, so the thermostat reads 76°F and the house still feels damp. The DOE says oversizing reduces dehumidification.

The average July dew point at Bob Sikes Airport is around 73°F, and in 2015 to 2024 about 12 days a year had a mean dew point of 75°F or higher, up from 3 in 1973 to 1990. If your house feels clammy and smells musty, an oversized system is one of the first things to rule out. See humidity and mold smell.

An undersized system has the opposite problem: it runs all afternoon in July and still loses ground. With 108 days a year at 90°F or hotter in Crestview over 2016 to 2025, that's a lot of afternoons. See AC not keeping up.

Days per year with an average dew point of 75°F or higher

What changes the load in a Panhandle house

• Ducts in the attic. Leaky or poorly insulated ducts in an attic that bakes in summer and gets cold in winter add load both ways.
• Windows. West- and south-facing glass and big sliders add heat in summer and lose it in winter. So do older single-pane windows.
• Shade. A house under mature pines and one on an open lot in a new subdivision get very different afternoon sun.
• Insulation and roof. Attic insulation depth and roof color both matter, which is why a load calculation asks about them.
• Age of the house. In the Crestview ZIPs about 51% of homes were built in 2000 or later and 19% before 1980. Fort Walton Beach is older, about 45% pre-1980. Newer homes were built to newer energy codes.

CHELCO and FPL rebates

Check your bill to see which utility serves you. CHELCO offers $350 per ton on dual fuel and mini-split heat pumps of 15 SEER or more in single-family homes, and $400 per ton when an existing manufactured home replaces an electric furnace with a heat pump. The catch: every CHELCO rebate requires a load calculation done by CHELCO Energy Services, plus a licensed installer. Your contractor's Manual J doesn't count for the rebate, so call CHELCO before you sign, not after the install.

FPL Northwest FL offers a $200 instant rebate on a complete new system (indoor and outdoor) rated 15.2 SEER2 or higher, installed by an FPL-approved Participating Independent Contractor. Ask whether the company quoting you is on that list. More in our AC bill guide.

Before you sign

1. Ask for the load calculation for both cooling and heating, or at least the inputs they used.
2. Get the tonnage, SEER2 rating, HSPF2 on a heat pump, heat strip size and refrigerant in writing. New split AC systems in Florida must meet at least 14.3 SEER2 under 45,000 Btu per hour, and heat pumps 14.3 SEER2 and 7.5 HSPF2.
3. Ask whether the price includes the air handler, the permit and disposal. Florida requires a permit to replace a mechanical system; a contractor who asks you to pull it is a warning sign.
4. Check the license on MyFloridaLicense.com. Our license guide shows how.

For the rest of the replacement process, see AC installation and heat pumps.