HVAC Load Calculations and Energy Code Compliance in Florida

Adicot was founded in Venice, Florida in 2014, and the practice grew up on the Florida Building Code. Our Florida work covers offices, medical, dental and veterinary clinics, retail, restaurants and multi-family buildings, from Jacksonville and St. Augustine to Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Myers and Miami.

The same services in every state

Adicot provides the same engineering services in every state it is licensed in, for industrial, commercial and multi-family buildings of any size. What changes from state to state is the code the work is held to.

• Cooling Load/Heat Load Calculations: room-by-room loads worked with ASHRAE methods, with ventilation rates to the adopted code
• Energy Code Compliance: the building modeled and compliance demonstrated on performance, in the format the plan reviewer expects

Both are sealed by a professional engineer licensed in the state. Get a Quote to see the fee.

The codes in force in Florida

Florida writes its own building code and adopts it statewide. As of October 2026:

• Building code: Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), in effect since December 31, 2023.
• Energy: Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, 8th Edition (2023). It is built on the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code with Florida amendments, and commercial buildings may instead comply through ASHRAE 90.1-2019.
• Mechanical: Florida Building Code, Mechanical, 8th Edition (2023), which sets the ventilation rates.
• Next edition: the 9th Edition (2026) is scheduled to take effect on December 31, 2026.

The date of the permit application decides which edition governs a project, so we confirm that before any calculation starts.

What is particular to Florida

Humidity. Florida is in climate zone 2A, with Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties in zone 1A. Both are hot and humid, so the moisture in the outdoor air is as much a part of the load as the temperature. We work the latent load and the ventilation air explicitly, room by room.

Approved compliance software. Florida energy compliance is documented with software approved by the Florida Building Commission. For commercial buildings that is EnergyGauge Summit, which we work in.

Multi-family. A residential building of three stories or fewer falls under the energy code's residential provisions, and one of four stories or more under its commercial provisions. The two use different forms and different software, so the story count is the first thing we check.

High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. Miami-Dade and Broward counties are the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, with stricter wind requirements for outdoor mechanical equipment. Our free Mechanical Equipment Wind Pressure Calculator covers both cases.

Transfer air. The Florida Building Code, Mechanical, Section 601.6 sets the return air path a closed room needs. Our Return Air Transfer Duct/Pass Thru Calculator sizes it.

Free calculators that follow the Florida codes

• Ventilation Rates: outdoor air and exhaust rates from the Florida Building Code, Mechanical
• Window U-Factor and SHGC Default Values: the default tables from the 2023 Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation
• Mechanical Equipment Wind Pressure Calculator
• Return Air Transfer Duct/Pass Thru Calculator