Heating Repair in Lutz, FL (Pasco County)

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey estimates the fuel each occupied home uses for heat. Its 2020-2024 figures for the Lutz census-designated place, which covers both sides of the county line, look like this:

• Electricity: 8,851 homes, out of about 9,589 occupied homes.
• Utility gas: 436 homes.
• Bottled or tank gas, such as propane: 151 homes.
• No heating fuel at all: 118 homes.

These are survey estimates with margins of error, not a door-to-door count. Even so, electricity heats the large majority of Lutz homes.

In a home with a heat pump, Trane, an equipment manufacturer, says electric heat strips are installed in the indoor air handling unit as a backup heat source. If you are not sure what you have, our guide on how to tell if you have a heat pump walks through it.

A few hundred Lutz homes burn utility gas or propane instead. Those homes have extra safety steps, covered further down.

The figures here are NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for two stations, Saint Leo and Tampa International Airport. Neither station is in Lutz, so read them as regional averages rather than a forecast for your street.

At Saint Leo, a normal year has 15.9 nights that drop to 40°F or lower, and 2.6 nights at or below freezing. Tampa International Airport averages 7.5 nights at 40°F or lower, and 0.8 at or below freezing.

January at Saint Leo has a normal low of 49.4°F and averages 6.2 nights at 40°F or lower. December averages 4.2 such nights, and February 3.1.

Why 40 degrees matters

Trane says a heat pump thermostat triggers auxiliary heat when it is below 40 degrees outside, or below a set trigger temperature, and while the heat pump defrosts. Auxiliary heat is the backup system.

So on nights below 40 degrees, Trane says the thermostat will trigger auxiliary heat. That is also when you find out whether it works.

None of these needs tools or an open panel. Stop at anything that feels unsafe.

1. Air filter. Slide it out and look at it. Our guide to HVAC air filters covers sizes.
2. Thermostat settings. Confirm the thermostat is on Heat, with the set temperature above the room temperature. Trane advises bumping up the temperature only a degree or two at a time. See thermostat settings.
3. Vents, returns and the outdoor unit. Open the supply vents and move furniture off the return grilles. Outside, pull leaves and clippings away from the outdoor unit by hand.

That is where homeowner checks end. If a breaker has tripped, leave it off and call a licensed contractor. Do not open the air handler or the outdoor unit, and leave wiring, the capacitor and refrigerant lines alone. Carrier, an equipment manufacturer, warns homeowners not to diagnose or repair electrical or combustion problems themselves.

A diagnosis confirms the cause. These are the signs worth acting on, and what the manufacturers say about them.

Aux Heat stays on when it is mild outside

Trane says auxiliary heat coming on during a cold night or a defrost cycle is not necessarily a problem. It becomes one if it comes on and stays on when it is above 40 degrees. That can point to a fault in the heat pump or the thermostat, and Trane's advice is to call for service. Our auxiliary heat guide explains more.

Frost or ice on the outdoor unit

During defrost you may see frost or ice on the outdoor unit, according to Trane. If it keeps running but has not defrosted after an hour, Trane says you may need to call for heat pump repair. If the heat pump will not turn on at all, Trane says you need to call for service. See heat pump defrost mode.

A burning smell

Carrier says a burning-dust smell when a furnace is first turned on for the season can last from about 30 minutes to a few hours. If it lasts longer than a few hours, becomes stronger, or smells like burning plastic or electrical wiring, Carrier says to turn off the furnace and have the system inspected.

A rotten-egg smell in a gas or propane home

Carrier treats a rotten-egg smell as a possible gas leak. Its guidance is to leave the area and contact your gas utility provider or emergency services. The Pasco Economic Development Council lists two natural gas providers in the county, Clearwater Gas and TECO Peoples Gas. Your gas bill shows which one serves you.

The Emergency Heat setting

Trane says Emergency Heat is for a true emergency, when the heat pump has failed and it is very cold outside. Switching it on shuts the heat pump down and makes the backup heat the main heat. Trane notes that heat strips use more energy than the heat pump, and says to call for service right away if you engage it. Our emergency heat guide goes further.

Carbon monoxide, or CO, is a gas that burning fuel gives off. Florida law describes it as a byproduct of combustion.

Section 553.885 of the Florida Statutes requires an approved carbon monoxide alarm within 10 feet of each room used for sleeping in homes, or additions, built on or after July 1, 2008 that have a fossil-fuel-burning heater or appliance, a fireplace, an attached garage, or another feature that emits carbon monoxide as a byproduct of combustion. The rule does not reach existing homes that are only being repaired.

For a Lutz home that burns gas or propane, the EPA's placement advice is a sound baseline. It calls for an alarm on every level of the home, near or inside each sleeping area, and at least 15 feet from any fuel-burning appliance. The EPA also says to test CO alarms monthly. Our guide to carbon monoxide detector placement covers the details.

If you use a space heater while you wait

The U.S. Fire Administration says to keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet from a space heater. Turn it off when you leave the room or go to bed, and never use an oven to heat the house. The agency reports that heating fires were the second leading cause of home fires in 2021.

For a home on the Pasco side of Lutz, Pasco County Building Construction Services is the permit office, at (727) 847-8126. The county's list of work that does not need a building permit includes air conditioning repair of existing equipment. Whether a particular heating repair fits that line is a question for the county or your contractor.

That exemption list has limits. Pasco says it does not apply to buildings or parcels in special flood hazard areas, to construction in or next to wetlands, or to commercial property. The county also says the list does not cover every scope of work.

The county's Building Construction page links to parcel, zoning and flood information, where you can look up your lot. Its Central Permitting office in Land O' Lakes, at 4111 Land O' Lakes Blvd. (US 41), is open by appointment.

Replacing a system is a bigger job than a repair, so ask about the permit before that work begins. Our Lutz HVAC page covers the community on both sides of the line.

Census estimates put the median year built for Lutz homes at 1990. The 1980s is the largest single decade, with about 2,446 homes, followed by about 1,650 from the 1970s. Roughly 2,124 homes date from 2010 or later.

A house's age is not the age of its heating equipment. When you call, the year the system went in, if you know it, helps more than the year the house was built.

One failed part is a repair. If the diagnosis finds a bigger failure, Blume puts the repair and the replacement side by side, with a written, upfront price before any work starts. We do not sell equipment a home does not need. A replacement system is sized with an ACCA Manual J load calculation and Manual S equipment selection, and financing is available through Synchrony Bank. Our guide to a heater not working in Florida covers the common failures.

Blume Mechanical Service, LLC holds Florida license CAC-1822618 as a Class A licensed air conditioning contractor, and the company is fully insured. We service all major brands, and refrigerant work is handled by EPA Section 608 certified technicians. The office is at 2840 West Bay Drive #114, Belleair Bluffs, FL 33770, and Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties make up our core service area.

Blume offers 24/7 emergency HVAC service, with same-day response available based on location and technician availability. A person answers the 24/7 dispatch line.

Have this ready when you call

• Which county your Lutz address is in.
• Whether the home heats with electricity, utility gas or propane.
• What the thermostat shows, including any Aux Heat or Emergency Heat indicator.
• Whether the outdoor unit is running, and whether it is frosted over.
• Any smell, and whether it faded.
• Whether a breaker has tripped. Leave it off until a technician looks.