Heating Repair in Clearwater, FL

Two utilities reach into Clearwater homes. Duke Energy Florida's 2025 Ten-Year Site Plan names Clearwater among the cities in its service area. CGS Energy, which the City of Clearwater owns, lists home heating among its basic services.

A heat pump. In colder months an air-source heat pump extracts heat from the outside air and pumps it into the house. In summer it works in reverse to provide cooling, so the outdoor unit runs in both seasons.

Electric resistance heat strips. The U.S. Department of Energy says electric resistance elements are typically added to heat pumps to make up for gaps in heating capacity. The Better Buildings heat pump guide says auxiliary heating means electric resistance strip heat used as a supplement.

A gas appliance. If a gas line feeds your heat, say so when you call. Gas leaks and carbon monoxide are covered further down.

No tools, no covers off. Stop at anything that feels unsafe.

1. Thermostat settings. Set the mode to Heat and the set temperature above the room temperature. A heat pump guide hosted by the Department of Energy advises Heat mode in winter instead of Auto, which can switch between heating and cooling.
2. The air filter. Check it and replace it if it is clogged. The same guide says a dirty filter strains the system and leads to high energy bills.
3. Vents, returns and the outdoor unit. Open the supply registers, clear furniture and boxes away from the return grilles, and clear leaves or debris away from the outdoor unit.

If a breaker for the heating system has tripped, leave it off and call a licensed contractor.

Do not open the air handler, a furnace cabinet or an electrical panel. If you smell gas, the CGS Energy line for reporting a gas leak is (727) 462-6633.

These come from a homeowner guide to air-source heat pumps on the Department of Energy's Better Buildings site. It tells owners to contact a qualified HVAC professional when they see any of them.

The house never reaches the temperature you set

The guide lists a setpoint that is never reached as a sign the heat pump is not working properly.

AUX shows on the thermostat all the time

Auxiliary heat means electric resistance strip heat running as a supplement. The guide calls this mode costly and inefficient and says frequent use is a reason to have the unit checked.

Heat that starts and stops over and over

A heat pump that is frequently cycling off and on is on the guide's list of warning signs. The guide also says a dirty filter strains the system and leads to high energy bills.

Frost or ice on the outdoor unit

When the outdoor coil drops below 32°F, condensation freezes on it and the unit runs a defrost cycle. The guide says defrost typically takes 5 to 15 minutes. A unit that is stuck in defrost or covered in ice needs a professional.

A strange smell from the unit or the ducts

Strange smells from the unit or ductwork are another sign on the guide's list.

The electric bill jumps

The guide calls a sudden increase in electricity use the most common and apparent sign that a heat pump is not working properly.

On a heat pump thermostat, Emergency Heat shuts the heat pump off completely and runs only the backup heat source. Lennox describes it as reliable and effective, but less efficient than the heat pump.

The manufacturer lists times to use it, including when the heat pump has completely failed and you need temporary heat, and when your HVAC technician specifically instructs you to turn it on. It also warns that the energy bill can climb quickly if Emergency Heat runs for days or weeks.

The Department of Energy says the use of electric resistance elements should be kept to a minimum. It recommends heat pump thermostats that ramp the temperature up slowly so the elements do not switch on. For the same reason, raise the setting gradually rather than in one big jump; the heat pump guide says rapid adjustments can prompt inefficient operation. For more on the heat pump side, see our heat pump repair page for Clearwater.

Gas heat is a real possibility in Clearwater. CGS Energy says it serves more than 28,000 natural gas customers throughout north Pinellas and Pasco counties. The city owns the utility, and home heating is one of the services it lists.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission advises CO alarms on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas, battery-operated or with battery backup.

The CPSC lists the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning as headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, sleepiness and confusion. If you suspect CO poisoning, it says to get outside to fresh air immediately and then call 911.

A suspected gas leak goes to CGS Energy at (727) 462-6633. The appliance itself, its burners and its venting are work for a licensed contractor.

These points come from the City of Clearwater's January 2024 Residential Inventory and Housing Affordability Assessment. They describe the housing, not our service calls.

Where the older houses are. The report says housing in the northeast of the planning area and along US-19 appears to be the newest, with a median age of about 40 years. Areas to the west and south, including those closest to downtown, are older, with median ages of 45 to 60 years.

Houses and condos. The planning area holds about 30,400 single-family detached homes and 26,900 units in buildings of 10 or more units. Multifamily housing is more common along US-19, near downtown and closer to the Gulf and the Bay. In a condo, tell the dispatcher where the air handler sits, because access shapes the visit.

Mobile and manufactured homes. The report counts 26 mobile home parks in the planning area, with 2,890 units. 24 CFR 3280.707 says heat producing appliances and vents, roof jacks and chimneys necessary for their installation in manufactured homes must be listed or certified for residential use by a nationally recognized testing agency. Fuel-burning heating appliances in those homes must be the vented type, vented to the outside.

The City of Clearwater says a permit is required to install, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system. Most projects need one, and in many cases a licensed contractor is recommended or required.

First confirm who issues the permit. The city points owners to the Pinellas County Property Appraiser site, where a Current Tax District of Clearwater, CW, CWD or CWDO means the property is inside the city.

Licensed contractors submit mechanical (air conditioning) permits to the city online. The building department is on the second floor of the Municipal Services Building at 100 S. Myrtle Ave., and its phone number is (727) 562-4567. Different permits need inspections at different points in the project.

If the diagnosis finds a failure that makes replacement the better choice, Blume shows the repair and the replacement side by side. See also AC replacement in Clearwater.

The Better Buildings heat pump guide lists checks a service technician should be able to make, including these:

• Refrigerant: whether the heat pump is properly charged, and whether there are any leaks.
• Airflow: whether adequate airflow is being achieved.
• Electrical: an inspection of the electric terminals.
• Controls: the thermostat settings, and whether supplemental heat comes on only when it is needed.

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. If the problem is on the cooling side as well, our AC repair page for Clearwater covers it.

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. More on the city is on our Clearwater service page.

What to have ready when you call

• Whether the heat is a heat pump, electric strips or gas, if you know.
• What the thermostat is set to, what it reads, and whether AUX or Emergency Heat is showing.
• Whether the outdoor unit runs when the thermostat calls for heat.
• Whether a breaker has tripped. Leave it off.
• Whether the home is a house, a condo or a manufactured home, and roughly when it was built.
• When the heat last worked.