Brevard County energy calcs & Manual J.
An EPL card in the first upload, and a flood zone on the plot plan.
Brevard County's new-home permit page lists energy calculation forms, a Manual J for HVAC sizing and the Energy Performance Level display card, uploaded through its BASS portal. Unincorporated Brevard is a minority of county permits; Palm Bay issues the most. Brevard is climate zone 2A, with 91°F cooling and 42°F heating limits.
- Department
- Brevard County Building Permitsunincorporated · Brevard's Advanced Service Site (BASS)1
- Code edition
- FBC Energy Conservation, 8th Ed. (2023)9th Ed. (2026) scheduled for Dec 31, 2026 · what changes2
- Climate zone
- Zone 2A1% cooling 91°F · 99% heating 42°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
- 9 primary sourcesEvery number on this page links to its source · references
What Brevard reviewers ask for
Brevard's residential SFR and duplex page spells out what the energy reviewer gets: completed energy calculation forms, a 'Manual J' for HVAC equipment sizing, and the Energy Performance Level (EPL) display card.1 Listing the EPL card at application means it belongs in the first upload, so it is in every Brevard packet we deliver.
The rest of the Brevard submittal notes2 more paragraphs
Registered contractors apply, upload documents, track status and pay through BASS at any hour, and walk-in applications can bring documents on a flash or thumb drive.1 Plans must be signed and sealed by a Florida-registered architect or engineer, with product approvals for every exterior door, window, overhead garage door and skylight.1
The plot plan, signed and sealed by a Florida land surveyor, has to show finished floor elevations, lot grading and drainage, and the flood zone.1 A recorded notice of commencement, required above $5,000 of job value, must be uploaded and approved by Planning & Development before inspections can be scheduled.1
Building departments
2 departments · addresses, phones, portals
Brevard's permits are spread across its cities. Palm Bay issued 1,908 of the county's 3,376 one-unit permits in 2025 and unincorporated Brevard 874; West Melbourne, Rockledge and Titusville each issued more than 100.67 Palm Bay has its own page. For Melbourne, Titusville, Rockledge, West Melbourne and the beach towns, use each city's own building page.
| Department | Address | Phone | Portal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brevard County Building Permits (unincorporated) | 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, FL 32940 | 321-633-2187 | Brevard's Advanced Service Site (BASS)1 |
| City of Palm Bay, Building Department | 110 Malabar Rd. SE, Palm Bay, FL 32907 | 321-953-8924 | iMS + ePermitHub Digital Plan Room4 |
Design conditions
91°F cooling · 42°F heating · zone 2A · weather stations
Cooling station: Melbourne Regional Airport (Manual J). Heating station: NASA Shuttle Facility (Manual J).3
Brevard pairs two stations: Melbourne Regional Airport for the 91°F cooling limit and the NASA Shuttle Facility for the 42°F heating limit.3 Zone 2A.2 Osceola borrows the Melbourne cooling value as well, which in our reading says more about where RESNET found station data than about inland weather.
Worked example
2,100 sq ft house → 28,160 Btu/h, 2.35 tons · illustrative
Illustrative · not a Manual J
A 2,100 sq ft four-bedroom block house, a step above Brevard's 5.5-room median.8 The 45-grain design moisture difference is our coastal assumption; the limits are Brevard's 91°F and 42°F.
| House | new single-storey block home, Viera area |
|---|---|
| Conditioned area | 2,100 sq ft, 1 storey, 9.33 ft ceilings |
| Bedrooms / occupants | 4 / 5 |
| Glazing | 14% of floor area (294 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 | 91°F cooling / 42°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: 32,380 Btu/h.9
Local housing
Median year built 1988 · 65.9% single-family detached · Census ACS
Brevard's median home was built in 1988, and 32.1% of units predate 1980; only 29.6% are from 2000 on.8 Single-family detached is 65.9% and mobile homes 7.2%, while 87.0% of occupied homes heat with electricity.8 Our reading: much of the work here is additions and replacements on older houses, where Manual J inputs are easy to guess instead of measure.
Utility rebates
FPL
- FPL. On FPL service, replacing both halves of a central system with 15.2 SEER2 or better equipment through a participating contractor brings a $200 credit on the contractor's invoice; ductless mini-splits don't qualify.5
Utility programs change often; check the program page before you count on a rebate.
Brevard County questions
3 answers · What energy documents does Brevard County want with a new house permit?
What energy documents does Brevard County want with a new house permit?
Completed energy calculation forms, a Manual J for HVAC equipment sizing, and the Energy Performance Level display card, according to the county's single-family and duplex permit page. Upload them to the application in BASS along with the sealed plans, product approvals and the surveyor's plot plan.
Is my Brevard address permitted by the county or a city?
Check the city limits first. Palm Bay, Melbourne, Titusville, West Melbourne, Rockledge and other Brevard cities appear as their own permit-issuing places in Census permit data. Brevard County's office in Viera handles unincorporated addresses through BASS, while Palm Bay uses its own iMS portal.
Can I submit Brevard permit documents on a thumb drive?
Yes, for walk-in applications. Brevard's permit page says walk-in applications and documents may be accepted on a flash or thumb drive, though it encourages digital submission. Registered contractors can instead apply, upload, track status and pay fees through BASS around the clock.
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
9 primary references · numbered to match the citations
- 01Brevard County, Residential SFR – Duplex New Permit Applicationbrevardfl.gov
- 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 Palm Bay, Building Permits & Inspectionspalmbayfl.gov
- 05FPL, Ways to Save: A/C Rebatefpl.com
- 06U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2025 annual place data, South Region (1-unit housing units by permit-issuing place)www2.census.gov
- 07U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2025 annual county data (new privately-owned 1-unit housing units)www2.census.gov
- 08U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates for Brevard County, FL (B25018, B25024, B25034, B25035, B25003, B25040), via Census Reportercensusreporter.org
- 09Florida Building Commission, R405-2026 documentation checklist example (quotes R403.7.1.1 cooling equipment sizing limits)floridabuilding.org