Port St. Lucie energy calcs & Manual J.
Outside consolidated Jacksonville, no Florida city permits more new houses.
Port St. Lucie's single-family checklist lists a Manual J and energy code forms completed and signed on both the front page and the display page, with plans split into one PDF per trade. The city issued 2,814 new single-family permits in 2025, more than any Florida city except consolidated Jacksonville. It is climate zone 2A, with 90°F cooling design.
- Department
- City of Port St. Lucie, Building DepartmentOnline Contractor Portal1
- Code edition
- FBC Energy Conservation, 8th Ed. (2023)9th Ed. (2026) scheduled for Dec 31, 2026 · what changes2
- Climate zone
- Zone 2A1% cooling 90°F · 99% heating 41°F3
- Price
- $195 · $445 · $595Energy calc from · full package · sealed. Same in all 67 counties · price list
- Ready by
- 2–3 business daysExpedited: within 24 business hours, +$150. Clock starts when complete plans pass intake (3:00 PM ET cutoff) · how it works
- Evidence
- 8 primary sourcesEvery number on this page links to its source · references
What Port St. Lucie reviewers ask for
The city's single-family checklist, revised September 29, 2025, puts the Manual J right after the subcontractor applications, then 'Energy codes (must be completed and signed on the front and display page)'.4 Two signatures, two pages: the display page is the one people miss, and it is the first thing we check before a Port St. Lucie packet leaves.
The rest of the Port St. Lucie submittal notes2 more paragraphs
Plans arrive digitally stamped, signed and sealed, separated by trade as PDFs (structural, electrical, mechanical and plumbing each its own file) and uploaded to the Online Contractor Portal.4 The application itself must carry living, non-living and total square footage, the number of stories and bedrooms, and the construction material.4 Those areas are what the energy form gets compared against.
Nine named subdivisions, Vikings Landing and Sawgrass Lakes among them, also need a site drainage plan sealed by a design professional at submittal.4 A recorded notice of commencement is due before the first inspection on work valued at $5,000 or more.4
Building departments
1 department · addresses, phones, portals
Port St. Lucie runs its own Building Department and permits everything inside city limits; unincorporated St. Lucie County and Fort Pierce are separate jurisdictions. St. Lucie County's own office, for unincorporated addresses, is on our St. Lucie County page.
| Department | Address | Phone | Portal |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Port St. Lucie, Building Department | See official page | Official page | Online Contractor Portal1 |
Design conditions
90°F cooling · 41°F heating · zone 2A · weather stations
Cooling station: St. Lucie County International (ASHRAE). Heating station: St. Lucie County International (ASHRAE).3
Port St. Lucie uses St. Lucie County's limits, 90°F cooling and 41°F heating, both from the St. Lucie County International station.3 Zone 2A.2 A 90°F cooling design ties Martin's for the lowest on the Atlantic coast below St. Johns County, which in our reading leaves little excuse for the oversizing that a hotter rule of thumb produces.
Worked example
2,300 sq ft house → 29,420 Btu/h, 2.45 tons · illustrative
Illustrative · not a Manual J
A 2,300 sq ft four-bedroom block house, sized toward the city's 6.1-room median.6 It runs at 90°F, the city's limit; the 45-grain moisture figure is our coastal assumption.
| House | new single-storey block home, Tradition area |
|---|---|
| Conditioned area | 2,300 sq ft, 1 storey, 9.33 ft ceilings |
| Bedrooms / occupants | 4 / 5 |
| Glazing | 14% of floor area (322 sq ft), U 0.32, SHGC 0.25 |
| Walls / ceiling | R-7.8 walls, R-38 ceiling under a vented attic |
| Air leakage | 5 ACH50 |
| Ducts | in the attic, 8% gain allowance |
| Ventilation | mechanical, per FBC formula |
| Outdoor design | 90°F cooling / 41°F heating (sourced above) |
| Indoor design | 75°F cooling / 70°F heating |
| Design grains difference | 45 gr/lb (assumption) |
Illustrative only. A simplified block-load estimate with the inputs shown, not an ACCA Manual J, and not for permitting. A real calc goes room by room with your plans, orientation and equipment data. Code ceiling for single-stage cooling at 1.15× total load: 33,830 Btu/h.7
Local housing
Median year built 2002 · 87.1% single-family detached · Census ACS
Port St. Lucie is a city of houses: 87.1% of its units are single-family detached and only 1.7% are mobile homes.6 The median home dates from 2002, 57.0% were built from 2000 on, and the median house has 6.1 rooms.6 It issued 2,814 one-unit permits in 2025, behind only consolidated Jacksonville among cities.8
Utility rebates
FPL
- FPL. On FPL service, a whole-system replacement at 15.2 SEER2 or higher by a participating contractor earns a $200 instant credit on the invoice; ductless mini-splits don't qualify.5
Utility programs change often; check the program page before you count on a rebate.
Port St. Lucie questions
3 answers · What energy documents does Port St. Lucie require for a new house?
What energy documents does Port St. Lucie require for a new house?
A Manual J and the energy code forms, completed and signed on both the front page and the display page, per the city's single-family checklist. Plans go in digitally signed and sealed, one PDF per trade, through the Online Contractor Portal, with square footages on the application that match the energy form.
Which Port St. Lucie subdivisions need a sealed drainage plan?
The city's checklist names nine: Vikings Landing, Vikings Lookout, Sawgrass Lakes, Osprey Ridge, South River Shores, Bay St. Lucie, Charleston Oaks, Kitching Cove and Lake Lucie Estates. A site drainage plan signed and sealed by a design professional is due at submittal for permits in those communities.
How many new homes does Port St. Lucie permit?
The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey counts 2,814 new single-family units permitted by Port St. Lucie in 2025, more than any Florida city except consolidated Jacksonville; only eight unincorporated county areas issued more. That volume is why 2–3 business-day turnaround matters here.
Price
One statewide price in all 67 counties. Building departments decide what they accept; we don’t guarantee approval. Revisions for plan-review comments on the same design are free.
Nearby and related
Sources
8 primary references · numbered to match the citations
- 01City of Port St. Lucie, Building Permits: Applications, Fees and Checklistscityofpsl.com
- 022023 Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation (8th Ed.), Table R301.1, climate zones by countyup.codes
- 03RESNET / ENERGY STAR, Appendix A: HVAC Design Temperature Limits by State and County (v4, 2019). 1% cooling and 99% heating values drawn from the ASHRAE 2013 Handbook of Fundamentals and ACCA Manual J 8th Ed.resnet.us
- 04City of Port St. Lucie Building Department, Checklist for Single-Family Residence Permits (PDF, updated 9-29-25)cityofpsl.com
- 05FPL, Ways to Save: A/C Rebatefpl.com
- 06U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates for Port St. Lucie (B25018, B25024, B25034, B25035, B25003, B25040), via Census Reportercensusreporter.org
- 07Florida Building Commission, R405-2026 documentation checklist example (quotes R403.7.1.1 cooling equipment sizing limits)floridabuilding.org
- 08U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2025 annual place data, South Region (new 1-unit housing units by permit-issuing place)www2.census.gov