Heating Repair in Zephyrhills, FL

The U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey estimates for 2019 to 2023 break down how the city's occupied homes are heated:

• Electricity: 7,492 of 7,836 homes.
• Bottled, tank or LP gas (propane): 112 homes.
• Utility gas: 96 homes.

These figures are for the City of Zephyrhills. The Census Bureau lists Zephyrhills North, Zephyrhills South and Zephyrhills West as separate census-designated places, so they are not counted here.

Older homes and mobile homes

The same survey counts 9,285 housing units in the city. The 1970s are the largest single decade, with 1,726 homes built from 1970 to 1979. Adding the decades in the table, 3,518 homes were built before 1980.

A University of Florida GeoPlan Center report counts 2,938 mobile home units in the city in its 2017 to 2021 estimates. Its list of mobile home parks has ten entries, among them Tree Lane Village and Sleepy Hollow Mobile Estates.

When you call, say whether the home is site-built or a mobile or manufactured home, and roughly when it was built.

The fix depends on the equipment, so it helps to know which one you have.

A heat pump with backup strips. Trane, an equipment maker, says electric heat strips are installed in the indoor air handling unit as a backup heat source. If your thermostat shows Emergency Heat, Trane says to use it only in a true emergency and to call for service right away once you do. Our guide to emergency heat explains the setting.

An electric furnace. Carrier, another equipment maker, says an electric furnace passes an electric current through heating elements, and the air handler pushes air over them. Lennox compares those coils to the ones in a toaster. A blower then drives the heated air through the ducts. Carrier notes that an electric furnace does not need burners, a gas valve or a heat exchanger.

Equipment in a manufactured home. Under the federal manufactured home standards, every manufactured home must be provided with a comfort heating system. Heat producing appliances installed in one must be listed or certified for residential use by a nationally recognized testing agency. Tell us the home type before a technician arrives.

Not sure which you have? See how to tell if you have a heat pump and furnace vs electric strip heat.

These need no tools and no open panels. Stop at anything that feels unsafe.

1. Thermostat settings. Set it to Heat, with the set temperature above the room temperature. ENERGY STAR lists checking thermostat settings in its maintenance checklist.
2. Air filter. ENERGY STAR says to inspect, clean or change the air filter in a furnace or heat pump once a month. See our guide to HVAC air filters.
3. Vents, returns and the outdoor unit. Move rugs, furniture and boxes off the supply vents and return grilles. On a heat pump, pull leaves and debris away from the outdoor unit by hand.

That is the end of the homeowner list. If a breaker for the heat has tripped, leave it off and call a licensed contractor. Do not open the air handler or furnace panels to look for the problem.

Dust burning off

Trane says a common reason for a burning smell when a heater is first turned on is dust buildup. After the dust burns off, Trane says, the smell typically fades. Its advice is to let the unit run for about 10 minutes and see whether the odor goes away.

An electrical smell

Trane says a burning electrical odor from a heater could point to a severe electrical problem. In that case, turn the system off at the thermostat and call a licensed HVAC professional. Do the same if any odor persists or gets worse.

If the smell comes with an alarm, a headache or dizziness, read the next section first.

By the Census figures above, 208 Zephyrhills homes heat with propane or utility gas. These systems carry a risk an electric furnace does not: carbon monoxide. Carrier and Lennox both say an electric furnace produces no carbon monoxide.

What the CPSC says

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission calls carbon monoxide a deadly, colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. It lists furnaces and room heaters among the appliances that can produce it when they malfunction. The CPSC says early symptoms are like the flu without the fever: headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea and dizziness.

If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, the CPSC says not to look for the source. Move outside to fresh air and call 911 or the fire department. Do not go back in until emergency responders say so. A heater found to be the source should not run again until trained personnel have serviced it.

What Florida law requires

Florida Statutes section 553.885 covers every building or addition constructed on or after July 1, 2008 that has a fossil-fuel-burning heater or appliance, a fireplace, an attached garage, or another feature that emits carbon monoxide. Those buildings must have an approved operational carbon monoxide alarm within 10 feet of each room used for sleeping, or at other locations the Florida Building Code requires. The CPSC advises alarms on every level of a home and outside sleeping areas, whatever its age. See our guide to carbon monoxide detector placement.

In a manufactured home, the federal standards require fuel-burning heaters to be vented to the outside. Gas lines, burners and venting are work for a licensed contractor, never a homeowner.

NOAA keeps 1991 to 2020 climate normals for its Saint Leo station. For December through February, the normal low there is 51.2°F and the normal high is 71.8°F. The station averages about 2.6 nights a year at or below freezing, and nearly all of them fall in December, January or February.

ENERGY STAR suggests having the heating system checked in the fall, before the first cold night.

ENERGY STAR's maintenance checklist gives a fair picture of what gets looked at.

• Electrical: tighten connections and measure voltage and current on motors.
• Controls: check that the controls work safely, and that the system starts, runs and shuts off properly.
• Gas or propane systems: check the gas connections, gas pressure, burner combustion and the heat exchanger.

On a heat pump, any refrigerant work is done by EPA Section 608 certified technicians, the federal refrigerant-handling credential. You get a written, upfront price before any work starts.

One failed part is a repair. If the diagnosis finds a larger failure, Blume lays out repair and replacement side by side and does not sell equipment a building does not need.

Replacement equipment is sized with an ACCA Manual J load calculation and Manual S equipment selection, not copied from the old unit. Financing is available through Synchrony Bank.

Inside the city limits, the City of Zephyrhills Building/Code Enforcement Department issues residential permits. It reviews plans for compliance with the Florida Building Code. For more on the city, see our Zephyrhills service area page.

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, and our core service area is Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

What to have ready when you call

• Whether the home is site-built or a mobile or manufactured home.
• Whether it heats with electricity, propane or gas.
• What the thermostat is set to, what it reads, and whether it shows Emergency Heat.
• Whether a breaker has tripped. Leave it off.
• Any burning smell, and whether it faded within a few minutes.
• When the heat last worked.