Sumter County Energy Calcs & Manual J

What Sumter reviewers ask for

The conventional residential page lists 'Florida energy efficiency code with Manual J and D' between the product approval numbers and the site plan.⁴ The county's printable checklist puts it as two copies of the Florida Energy Code compliance forms 'with J forms', or a single copy for online submittals, where engineered documents must be electronically verifiable.⁵

The rest of the Sumter submittal notes2 more paragraphs

Paper is still accepted: one paper or electronic copy, unless sheets run larger than 11 by 17, in which case the county wants two.⁴ Additions follow the same pattern, with Manual J and D 'if applicable', and add The Villages Architectural Review Committee approval where it applies.⁶ In an A or AE flood zone the house must sit a foot above base flood elevation, proven with under-construction and final elevation certificates.⁵

The energy work comes back at the end. To request a certificate of occupancy on a new single-family home, email the building office with 'Request for CO' and the permit number after uploading the blower door test and insulation certificate, along with the final termite treatment and any Wildwood utility or septic approvals.¹ We put the R405's air-leakage target on our cover sheet so whoever runs the blower door knows the number.

Building departments

1 department · addresses, phones, portals

Almost every new house in Sumter is a county permit: unincorporated Sumter issued 3,098 of 3,105 one-unit permits in 2025, and Bushnell issued 7.⁸⁹ The county has joint planning agreements with Wildwood and Bushnell; property inside them may face added standards or annexation, and the county refers applicants to Wildwood (352-330-1330) or Bushnell (352-793-2591).¹

Department	Address	Phone	Portal
Sumter County Building Services (Villages Sumter County Service Center)	7375 Powell Rd., Suite 115, Wildwood, FL 34785	352-689-4400	Citizenserve / online permitting¹

Design conditions

92°F cooling · 39°F heating · zone 2A · weather stations

92°F1% cooling design limit

39°F99% heating design limit

2AClimate zone (FBC-EC 8th Ed.)

17°FCooling ΔT vs 75°F indoor

Cooling station: Leesburg Regional (ASHRAE). Heating station: Leesburg Regional (ASHRAE).³

Sumter shares Leesburg Regional's limits with Lake: 92°F cooling and 39°F heating.³ Zone 2A.² The county's FAQ gives its design wind speed as 135 mph, which matters for the structural sheets rather than the load calc.¹

Worked example

1,700 sq ft house → 23,260 Btu/h, 1.94 tons · illustrative

Illustrative · not a Manual J

A 1,700 sq ft two-bedroom single-storey home, smaller than our other examples because Sumter's median home has 5.2 rooms.¹⁰ Block walls and the 50-grain moisture difference are our assumptions.

Inputs (assumed house; design temperatures sourced)
House	new single-storey block home, Wildwood area
Conditioned area	1,700 sq ft, 1 storey, 9 ft ceilings
Bedrooms / occupants	2 / 3
Glazing	14% of floor area (238 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	92°F cooling / 39°F heating (sourced above)
Indoor design	75°F cooling / 70°F heating
Design grains difference	50 gr/lb (assumption)

19,150Sensible, Btu/h

4,110Latent, Btu/h

23,260Total cooling, Btu/h

1.94Tons (total ÷ 12,000)

0.82Sensible heat ratio

14,160Heating, Btu/h

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: 26,750 Btu/h.¹¹

Local housing

Median year built 2006 · 82.3% single-family detached · Census ACS

2006Median year built

82.3%Single-family detached

10.1%Built before 1980

70.6%Built 2000 or later

5.2Median rooms

73.9%Electric heat

Sumter has Florida's newest housing: the median unit was built in 2006 and 70.6% date from 2000 or later, both the highest of all 67 counties.¹⁰¹² It also leads the state in owner occupancy (87.6%) and single-family detached share (82.3%).¹² Only 73.9% of occupied homes heat with electricity, second-lowest in Florida, so a gas furnace rather than a heat pump is a real possibility in the Manual S; tell us which the house uses.¹²

Utility rebates

Duke Energy Florida

Duke Energy Florida. Duke Energy Florida customers can claim up to $1,000 in HVAC rebates, $300 for an A/C and $500 for a heat pump, after a Home Energy Check within 24 months. We haven't verified which utility serves a given Sumter address.⁷

Utility programs change often; check the program page before you count on a rebate.

Sumter County questions

3 answers · What does Sumter County need before issuing a certificate of occupancy?

What does Sumter County need before issuing a certificate of occupancy?

For a new single-family home, upload the blower door test, insulation certificate, final termite treatment, and any City of Wildwood utility or Health Department septic approval to the permit, then email building@sumtercountyfl.gov with 'Request for CO' and the permit number in the subject. All required inspections must have passed first.

Does Sumter County need a Manual D?

For new conventional homes, yes: the county's residential submission page lists the Florida energy efficiency code with Manual J and D. For additions it lists the same item 'if applicable'. Online submittals need only one copy, and engineered documents must be electronically verifiable.

Do additions in The Villages need extra approval?

Yes. Sumter County's addition requirements include The Villages Architectural Review Committee approval where it applies, alongside sealed plans, a truss engineering package, a site plan with setbacks and septic location, and energy code forms with Manual J and D if applicable. Owner-builders must appear in person before issuance.

Price

$195Energy calc · from

$445Full package

$595Sealed

2–3Business days

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.

Start your order Plans in, price shown before you pay

NearbyLake County Marion County Pasco County Nature Coast counties

GuidesForm R405 vs R402 Manual J, S & D for Florida permits Why energy calcs get rejected

Sources

12 primary references · numbered to match the citations

01Sumter County, Building Services (FAQs and contact)sumtercountyfl.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
04Sumter County, Conventional Construction – Residentialsumtercountyfl.gov
05Sumter County Form Center, Building – Submittal Requirements – Residential – Checklistsumtercountyfl.gov
06Sumter County, Additions – Residentialsumtercountyfl.gov
07Duke Energy Florida, Rebate for HVAC Replacementduke-energy.com
08U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2025 annual place data, South Region (1-unit housing units by permit-issuing place)www2.census.gov
09U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2025 annual county data (new privately-owned 1-unit housing units)www2.census.gov
10U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates for Sumter County, FL (B25018, B25024, B25034, B25035, B25003, B25040), via Census Reportercensusreporter.org
11Florida Building Commission, R405-2026 documentation checklist example (quotes R403.7.1.1 cooling equipment sizing limits)floridabuilding.org
12U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates (B25001, B25003, B25018, B25024, B25034, B25035, B25040), via Census Reportercensusreporter.org