Heating
Furnace and heat repair in St. Petersburg, Florida
Cold mornings are few here, which is why a heating fault often goes unnoticed until the first one. Call and an independent contractor can take it from there.
(727) 292-1764Three ways a St. Pete house gets its heat
Before calling, find out which kind of heat you have. It changes what can go wrong.
A ducted heat pump runs the outdoor unit in reverse and moves heat indoors. An air handler with electric heat strips warms air with coiled elements, much like a toaster. A gas furnace burns natural gas or propane. Some houses combine a heat pump with strips that switch on when the pump cannot keep up.
Common heating faults
- Heat pump blowing cool air in heat mode: a reversing valve, a defrost control or low refrigerant.
- Heat strips that never warm: a tripped breaker, a failed sequencer or a broken element.
- A burning smell the first time the heat runs: usually dust on the elements, though a smell that lingers deserves a call.
- A gas furnace that tries to light and then shuts off: a dirty flame sensor or an ignition problem.
- Short cycling, where the system starts and stops every few minutes.
January in St. Petersburg
The Weather Service's normals put the average January low at 55.3 degrees, and heating degree days across the year are a small fraction of cooling degree days. Heating equipment therefore sits idle for months, and parts that corrode or collect dust show it on the first chilly morning. Running the heat briefly in late fall is an easy way to find out before you need it.
Questions homeowners ask
What kind of heat pump does this page mean?
A central, ducted one: an outdoor unit paired with an indoor air handler that sends warm air through the duct system.
Why does the outdoor unit steam in winter?
A heat pump periodically runs a defrost cycle that melts frost off the coil, which can look like steam. Steady ice that never clears is worth a call.
Talk it through with an independent contractor
Ring from St. Petersburg, Florida or a neighboring town and mention which rooms stay warm, what the thermostat reads and roughly how old the equipment is. Scope and price stay between you and that independent company.