Heating Repair in Westchase, FL

The U.S. Census Bureau describes census designated places as closely settled, unincorporated communities that are locally recognized and identified by name. Westchase is one of them, inside Hillsborough County, and it has no city government of its own.

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey table House Heating Fuel gives these 2019 to 2023 estimates for Westchase:

• Electricity: about 6,684 occupied homes.
• Utility gas: about 2,791 occupied homes.
• Bottled, tank or LP gas: about 37 homes.
• No heating fuel used: about 244 homes.

Those figures come from a survey. The Census gives a margin of error of about 388 homes for utility gas and about 473 for electricity. Even so, the picture is clear. Utility gas heat is common in Westchase, so a heating call here may involve a burner and a vent pipe, not only electric elements. That changes what a failure can mean, and it changes what is safe to do while you wait.

You can usually tell without opening anything.

A gas furnace. The Department of Energy says furnaces heat air and distribute it through the house using ducts. A gas furnace has a gas line running to the indoor unit and a vent pipe that carries combustion gases outside. If you see both, treat the system as gas.

A heat pump with backup strips. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), writing for the Department of Energy, says all-electric heat pumps come with electric resistance strip heaters for supplementary heat.

The air feels different too. PNNL says furnaces generally deliver air at between 130°F and 140°F, while heat pumps provide air at about 80°F to 115°F. Lukewarm air from a heat pump is not by itself a fault. Our guides on how to tell if you have a heat pump and furnace versus electric strip heat go further.

Stop here before any other check.

A gas smell

Peoples Gas, a Florida natural gas utility, tells customers who suspect a leak to leave the area and call 911, then call the gas company. Do that from outside, and then call the gas utility named on your bill. Do not try to find the leak or relight anything.

A carbon monoxide alarm

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) calls carbon monoxide (CO) a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. It lists malfunctioning fuel-burning appliances, furnaces among them, as one source. The CPSC's advice:

• Never ignore an alarming CO alarm. The CPSC says it is warning you of a potentially deadly hazard.
• If you suspect CO poisoning, get outside to fresh air immediately, and then call 911.
• Do not go back in until the emergency services responders have given you permission.

The CPSC lists the symptoms as headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, sleepiness and confusion. It says the initial symptoms of low to moderate CO poisoning are similar to the flu, but without the fever. It advises CO alarms with battery backup on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas.

After either event, the furnace stays off until a licensed contractor has inspected it.

These figures are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 climate normals for the Tampa International Airport weather station. They describe the regional climate, not readings taken in Westchase itself.

• January has a normal low of about 53°F. It averages about 13 nights at or below 50°F and about 4 at or below 40°F.
• December averages about 10 nights at or below 50°F.
• April through September average no nights at all at or below 40°F.
• Freezing nights average less than one a year.

So the heating side of a Westchase system can sit unused for most of the year. A fault that develops over the warm months stays hidden until the heat is next called on. Our guide to a heater not working in Florida walks through more of the causes.

None of these needs tools or an open panel. If you smell gas or a CO alarm has sounded, skip them and follow the steps above.

1. Thermostat settings. Set the mode to Heat and the set temperature above the room reading. After months on Cool, a thermostat left in the wrong mode is easy to miss. Our thermostat settings guide explains the modes.
2. Air filter. ENERGY STAR advises inspecting, cleaning or changing air filters once a month. It says a dirty filter can damage your equipment and lead to early failure. See our air filter guide.
3. Vents, returns and the outdoor unit. Open the supply registers and move furniture or rugs off the returns. Outside, pull leaves and debris away from the unit by hand.

If a breaker for the heating system has tripped, leave it off and call a licensed contractor. Do not open the furnace or air handler, touch wiring or gas parts, or try to relight a burner.

The Department of Energy lists furnace checks that a heating system professional should make. On forced-air systems those include:

• Checking the combustion chamber for cracks.
• Testing for carbon monoxide and fixing it if found.
• Checking fuel input and flame characteristics.
• Checking the vent connection pipe, because parts of a venting system can deteriorate over time.
• Adjusting the blower control and the temperature of the air leaving the furnace.

The DOE notes that a leaking furnace heat exchanger mixes combustion gases with house air, which is an important safety reason to inspect it. The heat exchanger is the metal chamber that passes the burner's heat to the house air. ENERGY STAR's heating checklist adds gas connections, gas pressure and burner combustion. It also lists tightening all electrical connections.

Blume's refrigerant work on a heat pump is done by EPA Section 608 certified technicians. You get a written, upfront price before any work starts. Our guide to the furnace heat exchanger explains that part in more detail.

The same Census survey estimates when each housing unit in Westchase was built:

• 1990 to 1999: about 3,677 units.
• 2000 to 2009: about 3,673 units.
• 2010 to 2019: about 1,827 units.
• 1980 to 1989: about 939 units.

PNNL gives the typical lifespan of HVAC equipment as 15 to 20 years. A furnace or air handler original to a 1990s Westchase home would be well past that range. Equipment may have been replaced along the way, so the nameplate on the equipment tells you more than the year the house was built.

Age also changes what to look for on a gas furnace. The DOE names gas furnaces with pilot lights, rather than electronic ignition, as prime candidates for replacement. It also says backdrafting of combustion gases can be a big problem in furnaces that are not sealed-combustion units. A sealed-combustion furnace brings outside air to the burner and sends its exhaust straight outdoors. Our guide on how long a furnace lasts covers the age question further.

Hillsborough County Development Services provides permitting and building inspection services for all of unincorporated Hillsborough County, and Westchase falls within that. The county's list of work exempt from permits sets out where a heating repair stands.

• Swapping a part that does not alter the equipment's approval or make it unsafe is listed as mechanical work that does not require a permit.
• Replacing the furnace, air handler or gas piping is not treated as a minor repair, and a permit is required.
• A replacement in an emergency can go ahead, with the permit application submitted within the next working business day.

Our Florida HVAC permit guide covers the statewide side.

If the diagnosis finds a cracked heat exchanger, a failing vent or an aging system, Blume shows repair and replacement side by side. We do not sell equipment a home does not need.

The DOE suggests a heat pump for anyone interested in electric heating. If replacement makes sense, Blume sizes the new system with an ACCA Manual J load calculation and Manual S equipment selection. Financing is available through Synchrony Bank.

Blume Mechanical Service, LLC is a Class A licensed Florida air conditioning contractor (license CAC-1822618) and is fully insured. We are brand-agnostic and service all major manufacturers' equipment. Our office is at 2840 West Bay Drive #114, Belleair Bluffs, FL 33770. Our core service area is Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties. More about service in the community is on our Westchase HVAC page, and nearby we cover heat pump repair in Tampa.

What to have ready when you call

• Whether the home heats with gas, a heat pump or electric strips.
• What the thermostat is set to and what it reads.
• Any gas smell, CO alarm or tripped breaker.
• Roughly how old the equipment is, from its nameplate if you can read it.