R403.7 Heating and Cooling Equipment (Mandatory)
Cooling only equipment shall be selected so that its total capacity is not less than the calculated total load but not more than 1.15 times greater than the total load calculated according to the procedure selected in Section 403.7, or the closest available size provided by the manufacturer's product lines. The corresponding latent capacity of the equipment shall not be less than the calculated latent load.
The published value for AHRI total capacity is a nominal, rating-test value and shall not be used for equipment sizing. Manufacturer's expanded performance data shall be used to select cooling-only equipment. This selection shall be based on the outdoor design dry-bulb temperature for the load calculation (or entering water temperature for water-source equipment), the blower CFM provided by the expanded performance data, the design value for entering wet-bulb temperature and the design value for entering dry-bulb temperature.
Design values for entering wet-bulb and dry-bulb temperatures shall be for the indoor dry bulb and relative humidity used for the load calculation and shall be adjusted for return side gains if the return duct(s) is installed in an unconditioned space.
Exceptions:
- Attached single- and multiple-family residential equipment sizing may be selected so that its cooling capacity is less than the calculated total sensible load but not less than 80 percent of that load.
- When signed and sealed by a Florida-registered engineer, in attached single- and multiple-family units, the capacity of equipment may be sized in accordance with good design practice.
Residences requiring excess cooling or heating equipment capacity on an intermittent basis, such as anticipated additional loads caused by major entertainment events, shall have equipment sized or controlled to prevent continuous space cooling or heating within that space by one or more of the following options: