Charlotte County energy calcs & Manual J.
Two signed sets, and a blower-door report before final.
Charlotte County wants two sets of energy calculations with a new one- or two-family permit, signed by both the preparer and the owner or agent. The blower-door report, signed by the tester, has to be approved before you request final inspections. Charlotte is climate zone 2A, and the county airport sets a 91°F cooling design limit.
- Department
- Charlotte County Community Development, Building Constructionunincorporated · Online permitting; resubmittals to PermitResubmittal@CharlotteCountyFL.gov1
- 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 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 Charlotte reviewers ask for
The county's one- and two-family checklist asks for two sets of energy calculations under the Energy Conservation Code, and it warns that incomplete applications are returned.4 The single-family permit page adds that the energy forms must be signed by the preparer and by the owner or agent.1
The rest of the Charlotte submittal notes2 more paragraphs
Charlotte reads the blower-door rule closely. The report must be signed by whoever ran the test and sent for review before final inspections are requested.1 The county's own test form spells out the target: no more than 7 ACH50 on the prescriptive path, or the ACH50 value entered on Form R405 or R406 for performance and ERI.5 When the result is under 3 ACH50, mechanical ventilation has to be verified by the building department.5
One quirk worth knowing: the single-family page sends blower-door reports to BlowerDoorReports@CharlotteCountyFL.gov, while the checklist PDF lists Inspections@CharlotteCountyFL.gov for blower-door and duct-leakage documents.14 Ask which inbox your permit tech wants before you send.
Building departments
1 department · addresses, phones, portals
The county's Building Construction division takes the unincorporated communities, Port Charlotte among them, and its checklist routes every question to one permitting line, 941-743-1201.4 The City of Punta Gorda permits inside its own limits; use the city's own building division page for its address, phone and portal.
| Department | Address | Phone | Portal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte County Community Development, Building Construction (unincorporated) | See official page | 941-743-1201 (Permitting) | Online permitting; resubmittals to PermitResubmittal@CharlotteCountyFL.gov1 |
Design conditions
91°F cooling · 41°F heating · zone 2A · weather stations
Cooling station: Charlotte County airport (ASHRAE). Heating station: Charlotte County airport (ASHRAE).3
Charlotte's 91°F cooling and 41°F heating limits both come from the county's own airport station.3 Charlotte stayed in zone 2A when its southern neighbours Lee and Collier were assigned 1A.2 The practical upshot, in our view, is that the R405 for a house in Port Charlotte runs against zone 2A prescriptive baselines even though the drive to a 1A jurisdiction is twenty minutes.
Worked example
1,850 sq ft house → 25,010 Btu/h, 2.08 tons · illustrative
Illustrative · not a Manual J
A modest 1,850 sq ft three-bedroom, sized to the county's 5.2-room median.7 We used 5.0 ACH50 because it clears the 7 ACH50 prescriptive cap with room to spare, which is the margin we'd want before the blower-door test.5
| House | new single-storey block home, Port Charlotte |
|---|---|
| Conditioned area | 1,850 sq ft, 1 storey, 9.33 ft ceilings |
| Bedrooms / occupants | 3 / 4 |
| Glazing | 14% of floor area (259 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 / 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: 28,760 Btu/h.8
Local housing
Median year built 1993 · 66.6% single-family detached · Census ACS
Two thirds of Charlotte's housing (66.6%) is single-family detached, second only to St. Johns among our county pages, and 10.0% is mobile homes.7 The median home was built in 1993 and owner occupancy is 84.2%.7 Expect a mix of 1980s–90s canal-front block homes and post-Ian rebuilds; the rebuild part is our observation, not a census figure.
Utility rebates
FPL
- FPL. FPL's $200 instant invoice credit covers a new central A/C or heat pump at SEER2 15.2 or higher, both indoor and outdoor units replaced by a participating contractor, not mini-splits.6
Utility programs change often; check the program page before you count on a rebate.
Charlotte County questions
3 answers · How many copies of the energy calc does Charlotte County want?
How many copies of the energy calc does Charlotte County want?
Two. The county's one- and two-family permit checklist lists two sets of energy calculations under the Energy Conservation Code, and the single-family page says the forms must be signed by the preparer and by the owner or agent. Incomplete applications are returned, so check both signatures before you submit.
When does Charlotte County need the blower-door report?
Before you request final inspections. The report must be signed by the person who ran the test and reviewed by the county, so leave time. It must meet 7 ACH50 on the prescriptive path, or the ACH50 value entered on Form R405 or R406 for performance and ERI permits.
Where do I send a Charlotte County resubmittal?
The county's permit checklist gives resubmittals and plan changes their own inbox, PermitResubmittal@CharlotteCountyFL.gov, separate from the primary BuildingConstruction@ address. If plan review comments on the energy calc, revisions on the same design are free from us; send the corrected PDF to that resubmittal address.
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
- 01Charlotte County, Residential Single Family permit pagecharlottecountyfl.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
- 04Charlotte County, One & Two Family Residential Permit Application Checklist, FBC 8th Ed. (PDF)charlottecountyfl.gov
- 05Charlotte County, Envelope Leakage Test Report (Blower Door Test) form (PDF)charlottecountyfl.gov
- 06FPL, Ways to Save: A/C Rebatefpl.com
- 07U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates (B25018, B25024, B25034, B25035, B25003, B25040), via Census Reportercensusreporter.org
- 08Florida Building Commission, R405-2026 documentation checklist example (quotes R403.7.1.1 cooling equipment sizing limits)floridabuilding.org