St. Lucie County energy calcs & Manual J.
Utility approvals before you file, and three elevation certificates in the flood zone.
For unincorporated St. Lucie County, the Building & Code Regulations Division in Fort Pierce wants a Manual J and signed energy code forms with a trade-split, digitally sealed plan set in its EnerGov portal, and utility approvals before you apply. Port St. Lucie permits its own addresses. Climate zone 2A, designed at 90°F and 41°F.
- Department
- St. Lucie County Building & Code Regulations Divisionunincorporated · EnerGov Self Service1
- 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
- 9 primary sourcesEvery number on this page links to its source · references
What St. Lucie reviewers ask for
The county's checklist for single-family residence and addition permits sets two energy items side by side: 'Mechanical Equipment Sizing Calculations (Manual J)' and energy code forms that must be completed and signed on the front page and the display page.4 We sign and date both pages before delivery, so the reviewer doesn't bounce the set over a blank signature line.
The rest of the St. Lucie submittal notes2 more paragraphs
Plans go in as a digitally signed and sealed binder set separated by trade, one PDF each for structural, electrical, mechanical and plumbing, uploaded to the EnerGov portal.4 The application must state living, non-living and total square footage, stories, bedrooms and the utility provider,4 and our conditioned area is matched to the number you enter there.
Two items govern timing rather than the calc. Utility approvals must be in hand before you submit, and homes in a Special Flood Hazard Area owe an elevation certificate with the construction documents, another under construction and a third before final.4 The county's forms page also posts an insulation installation certificate for later in the job.1
Building departments
1 department · addresses, phones, portals
Port St. Lucie dominates: it issued 2,814 of the county's 3,468 one-unit permits in 2025, against 520 for unincorporated St. Lucie and 133 for Fort Pierce.67 Port St. Lucie has its own page with its own checklist. For Fort Pierce, use the city's own building page; this page covers addresses the county permits directly.
| Department | Address | Phone | Portal |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Lucie County Building & Code Regulations Division (unincorporated) | 2300 Virginia Ave., Fort Pierce, FL 34982 | 772-462-1553 | EnerGov Self Service1 |
Design conditions
90°F cooling · 41°F heating · zone 2A · weather stations
Cooling station: St Lucie County Intl. (ASHRAE). Heating station: St Lucie County Intl. (ASHRAE).3
St. Lucie County International sets both limits, 90°F cooling and 41°F heating, and Martin and Okeechobee borrow the same station.3 Zone 2A.2 Collier and St. Johns share the 90°F, the lowest cooling design on our county list; in our view that is a reason to resist rounding tonnage up.
Worked example
1,950 sq ft house → 25,420 Btu/h, 2.12 tons · illustrative
Illustrative · not a Manual J
A 1,950 sq ft three-bedroom block house near the county's 5.7-room median.8 It runs at the county's 90°F and 41°F limits; the 45-grain moisture difference is our coastal assumption.
| House | new single-storey block home, unincorporated Fort Pierce |
|---|---|
| Conditioned area | 1,950 sq ft, 1 storey, 9.33 ft ceilings |
| Bedrooms / occupants | 3 / 4 |
| Glazing | 14% of floor area (273 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: 29,230 Btu/h.9
Local housing
Median year built 1996 · 71.5% single-family detached · Census ACS
Single-family detached houses make up 71.5% of St. Lucie's units and mobile homes 6.7%.8 The median dates from 1996, with 43.5% built from 2000 on; the median home has 5.7 rooms, and 92.5% of occupied homes heat with electricity.8
Utility rebates
FPL
- FPL. Where FPL is the utility, a 15.2 SEER2 or better central A/C or heat pump, with both halves replaced by a participating contractor, earns a $200 instant invoice credit; mini-splits are excluded.5
Utility programs change often; check the program page before you count on a rebate.
St. Lucie County questions
3 answers · Does St. Lucie County or Port St. Lucie review my permit?
Does St. Lucie County or Port St. Lucie review my permit?
It depends on the address. Port St. Lucie runs its own Building Department for property inside city limits. St. Lucie County's Building & Code Regulations Division in Fort Pierce handles unincorporated areas through its EnerGov portal. Fort Pierce is a separate permit-issuing city in Census permit data.
Which energy pages must be signed for St. Lucie County?
The front page and the display page of the energy code forms, both completed and signed, per the county's single-family and addition checklist. The same list asks for the Manual J equipment sizing calculations, so submit the J and the signed forms together with the mechanical plans in EnerGov.
Do I need an elevation certificate for a new house in St. Lucie County?
Only in a Special Flood Hazard Area. There, the county's checklist requires elevation certificates three times: with the construction documents, under construction, and before final. Everywhere, the survey and site plan must show setbacks and the proposed finished floor elevation, signed and sealed by a licensed surveyor.
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
- 01St. Lucie County, Permit Applications and Checklistsstlucieco.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
- 04St. Lucie County Building & Code Regulations Division, Checklist for Single-Family Residence and Addition Permits (PDF)stlucieco.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 St. Lucie 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