Heating Repair in Seminole, FL

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey table on house heating fuel gives these 2020-2024 estimates for Seminole:

• Electricity: 8,368 of 9,084 occupied homes.
• Utility gas: 377 homes.
• Bottled or tank gas, such as propane: 82 homes.

In a central system, electric heat may come from a heat pump, electric heat strips, or both.

A heat pump. In colder months it extracts heat from the outside air and pumps it into the house. Its outdoor unit therefore runs in winter as well as summer. Our guide on how to tell if you have a heat pump explains the difference.

Electric 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.

If your home is one of the few with gas heat, say so when you call. Gas safety is covered further down.

These need no tools and no covers off. Stop at anything that feels unsafe.

1. Thermostat settings. Choose Heat, not Auto, and set the temperature above what the room reads. A heat pump guide on the Department of Energy's Better Buildings site advises Heat mode in winter for best efficiency, and avoiding Auto, which switches between heating and cooling based on indoor temperature.
2. The air filter. Look at 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 and move furniture away from the return grilles. Clear leaves and debris from around the outdoor unit, and do not cover it; the guide says it needs airflow to draw heat.

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's panels or an electrical panel. Heat strips and their wiring are not homeowner work.

The Better Buildings guide lists signs that a heat pump is not working properly. It tells owners to contact a qualified HVAC professional when they see any of them.

The house never reaches the setting

A setpoint that is never reached is on the list, even with the three checks done.

AUX is lit on the thermostat all the time

Auxiliary heat means the electric strips are running as a supplement. The guide calls this mode costly and inefficient. If you see it often, have the system checked. Our page on auxiliary heat explains the light.

The system runs in short bursts

A heat pump that keeps cycling off and on, or one that will not run at all, is a warning sign.

Ice on the outdoor unit

Frost forms when the outdoor coil drops below 32°F, and the unit melts it with a defrost cycle. The guide says defrost typically takes 5 to 15 minutes. A unit stuck in defrost or covered in ice needs a professional. See heat pump defrost mode.

Noise or a strange smell

Excessive noise or strange smells from the unit or the ductwork are on the same list.

A jump in the electric bill

The guide calls a sudden rise in electricity use the most common and apparent sign of a problem.

Lennox describes Emergency Heat as the setting that keeps a home warm when the heat pump cannot do the job alone. It is reliable, but less efficient than the heat pump.

Lennox lists two times to use it that fit a no-heat night. One is when the heat pump has completely failed and you need temporary heat until it is repaired. The other is when the outdoor unit is frozen solid or damaged. It also warns that the energy bill can climb quickly if Emergency Heat runs for days or weeks.

The Department of Energy says electric resistance elements should be kept to a minimum because they are inefficient. Raise the setting a little at a time rather than in one jump. More is on our emergency heat page.

Gas heat is uncommon in Seminole, but the Census estimates still count 377 homes on utility gas and 82 on bottled or tank gas.

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

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 gas heater's burners, venting and gas connections are work for a licensed contractor.

These points come from the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 estimates for the city. They describe the housing, not our service calls.

Built in the 1970s. The median home in Seminole was built in 1979. The 1970s produced 3,058 of the city's 10,843 housing units, more than any other decade. Another 1,828 date from the 1960s. Knowing roughly when your home and its equipment were installed helps the technician.

Mobile and manufactured homes. The estimates count 1,411 mobile homes in Seminole. The HUD manufactured home standards at 24 CFR 3280.707 say heat-producing appliances, and the vents, roof jacks and chimneys needed to install them, must be listed or certified for residential use by a nationally recognized testing agency, and that fuel-burning heat-producing appliances, except ranges and ovens, must be of the vented type and vented to the outside.

Condos and apartments. About 4,026 units sit in buildings of five or more units. In a condo, tell the dispatcher where the air handler is, because access shapes the visit.

For homes inside the city, the City of Seminole's Building Division handles permit issuance, plan reviews and field inspections. Contractors register with the city before they can apply for a permit.

The city reviews applications under the 8th edition (2023) of the Florida Building Code, including its mechanical volume. On residential projects, one city inspector performs all trade inspections: building, mechanical, electrical and plumbing. Homeowners schedule inspections through the city's inspection hotline at 727-398-3110.

One failed part is a repair. If the diagnosis finds a larger failure, Blume shows the repair and the 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 selection. Financing is available through Synchrony Bank. For the heat pump itself, see heat pump repair in Seminole.

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

• Refrigerant: whether the heat pump is properly charged, and whether there are leaks. Refrigerant is the fluid that carries heat between the indoor and outdoor units.
• 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 cooling has suffered too, our AC repair page for Seminole covers that side.

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 is on our Seminole service page.

What to have ready when you call

• Whether your heat is electric 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.