Cooling Load Hours

Colorado

Cooling Load Hours is a number developed by the HVAC industry to indicate the number of hours that a typical air conditioner would run at a given location. Use the map below to obtain a rough idea of the cooling load hours in your area. Then adjust the total by adding or subtracting from information in the table below. The cooling load hours for Colorado range from 350 in north central Colorado to close to 800 in extreme SW Colorado. Other locations refer to map. To calculate the annual cost of operation for an air conditioner, use the following formula where Btu/Hour is the size of the unit, SEER is seasonal energy efficiency ration and $/Kwh is your cost of electricity:

(Btu/Hr / SEER) x (Cooling Load hrs / 1000 watts) x $/Kwh = Annual Cost of Operation

US Cooling Load Chart

Adjustment	Cooling Load Hours
Air conditioner is left on all summer.	add 200
Lots of west glass	add 300
House is well shaded	subtract 100
No west glass	subtract 100
House is unoccupied during the day and AC is on setback to just come on in afternoon to cool house down	subtract 200
Use of whole house fan in evening	subtract 200
Over 8000 elevation	You don't need AC

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Last Updated: 01/21/2007