Heating Repair in New Port Richey, FL

Nearly every home here runs on electric heat. In the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey estimates, 7,977 of the city's 8,247 occupied homes heat with electricity. Only 85 use utility gas.

That electric heat can come from a heat pump or from an electric furnace or heat strips.

A heat pump. The U.S. Department of Energy describes a heat pump as pulling heat from the surrounding air to warm the house, and it can cool the house too. All-electric heat pumps come with electric-resistance strip heaters for extra heat when it is needed.

An electric furnace or heat strips. Electric resistance heating is any process that turns electricity into heat. An electric forced-air furnace spreads that heat through an air handler and ducts, the same way a gas furnace does.

Not sure which one you have? Our guide on how to tell if you have a heat pump walks through it, and furnace vs. electric strip heat compares the two.

NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for its Tarpon Springs station count about 50 nights a year with a low under 50 degrees. January averages about 15 of those nights, December about 11 and February about 10. The June, July and August normals have none.

These are the only checks we suggest for a homeowner. None of them need tools or an open panel.

1. Thermostat settings. Set the mode to Heat, with the set temperature above the room temperature. After a long cooling season the thermostat may still be on Cool. The Energy Department names the control system, most commonly a thermostat, as one of the three basic components of any heating system.
2. The air filter. Look at it and change it if it is dirty. The Energy Department's home heating guidance says to clean filters monthly and replace them regularly. Our guide to HVAC air filters covers sizes and types.
3. Vents, returns and the outdoor unit. Move furniture, rugs and stored boxes off the supply vents and return grilles. Clear leaves and debris from around the outdoor unit if you have one. The same guidance says to make sure air vents are not blocked.

If a breaker for the heating system has tripped, leave it off and call a licensed contractor. Do not open the air handler, the outdoor unit or the electrical panel.

A diagnosis confirms the cause. These notes help you describe the problem when you call.

The air from the vents feels lukewarm

A heat pump does not deliver air as hot as a furnace. The Energy Department puts furnace supply air at about 130 to 140 degrees and heat pump air at about 80 to 115 degrees. Air that feels mild on your hand can be normal for a heat pump. Air that feels cool while the house keeps losing temperature is not normal and needs a diagnosis.

The power bill jumps in a cold week

The Energy Department notes that a standard heat pump's heating efficiency drops when it is below about 35 degrees outside, so backup heat is often needed. On an all-electric system, that backup is the heat strips. The same guide calls electricity one of the most expensive heating fuels, though rates vary by utility. Our guide to emergency heat explains the thermostat setting that runs the strips by themselves.

The heat runs, stops and runs again

Check the filter and the return grilles first. If both are clear and the heat keeps cutting out, call for a diagnosis.

A burning or electrical smell

Turn the system off at the thermostat and call a licensed contractor. Do not look for the source inside the equipment.

Much of the city's housing is decades old. Census estimates count 2,926 homes built from 1980 to 1989 and 2,591 built from 1970 to 1979. Only 36 were built in 2020 or later.

Where ducts run through the attic, the Energy Department's advice applies: seal them, and insulate them when they run through an unheated space such as an attic or crawlspace.

The same Census estimates count 1,382 mobile homes in the city. Under the federal construction standards for manufactured homes, heat producing appliances must be listed or certified for residential use by a nationally recognized testing agency. Our mobile home air conditioning guide covers how those systems are laid out.

If you use a space heater until the repair, follow the U.S. Fire Administration's rules. Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet away from it. Turn it off when you leave the room or go to bed. Never use an oven to heat your home.

The Energy Department says every home should have a carbon monoxide detector, because space heater safety is a big concern. It warns that unvented portable combustion heaters, used the wrong way, can cause carbon monoxide poisoning, severe illness and even death. Our guide to carbon monoxide detector placement shows where to put one.

Before you call about no heat, make sure the house has power. Duke Energy Florida has customers in Pasco County. If Duke is your electric company, outages can be reported online, through its app, by texting OUT to 57801 or by calling 800.228.8485.

Inside city limits, the City of New Port Richey's Building Division handles plan review, permits and inspections from 5919 Main Street. Its permit list includes new or replacement air conditioning, and it enforces the 2023 Florida Building Code, Mechanical. If a diagnosis leads to replacing the air conditioning equipment, that work needs a city permit.

For addresses in unincorporated Pasco County, a licensed contractor must register with the county before pulling permits or getting inspections. Homeowners can check a contractor's license on PascoGateway under the Contractor Licenses tab. Our guide to HVAC permits in Florida has more.

One failed part is a repair. If the diagnosis finds a larger failure, Blume shows the repair and the replacement side by side, with a written, upfront price before any work starts. We do not sell equipment a building does not need.

Replacement equipment is sized with an ACCA Manual J load calculation, which works out how much heating and cooling the home needs, and a Manual S equipment selection. Financing is available through Synchrony Bank. For cooling problems, see AC repair in New Port Richey.

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. Refrigerant work is done by EPA Section 608 certified technicians, the federal refrigerant-handling credential. Our office is at 2840 West Bay Drive #114, Belleair Bluffs, FL 33770, and our core service area is Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties. A person answers the 24/7 dispatch line.

What to have ready when you call

• What the thermostat is set to and what it reads.
• Whether the outdoor unit runs when the thermostat calls for heat.
• Whether the air from the vents feels warm, lukewarm or cool.
• Whether a breaker has tripped. If it has, leave it off.
• Whether the home is a house, a manufactured home or a condo.
• When the heat last worked.