Heat pump and heating in Tampa
In Florida the same outdoor unit that cools your house usually heats it too. When the first cold night comes, we make sure it can.
- Heat pump and electric strip heat
- Readings on every report
- Measured, then priced
How it works
How a heat pump heats
A heat pump moves heat. In summer it carries heat out of your house. In winter a valve reverses the flow and it carries heat in from the outside air, even when that air feels cold. It uses far less electricity to do that than a heater that makes heat from scratch.
What strip heat is
Most Florida heat pumps have electric heat strips in the air handler as a back-up. They turn on when the heat pump cannot keep up, and for a defrost cycle. They work, and they cost more to run. If your thermostat has an Emergency Heat setting, it runs only the strips. Use it for an emergency, not for the winter.
Sound familiar?
Signs your heat is in trouble
Cool air from the vents in heating mode
Sometimes the system is defrosting and it passes in a few minutes. Heat-mode air is warm but not hot, so it can feel cool on your hand even when the system is working. If it keeps on, the reversing valve, the charge or the outdoor unit is the place to look.
The strips run all night
If the Aux Heat light stays on, the heat pump isn’t doing its share. The readings tell us why.
Steam or ice on the outdoor unit
Steam in a defrost cycle is normal. Ice that never clears is not.
A burning smell on the first cold day
Dust on the strips often burns off on the first start of the season. Smoke, sparks, or a smell that doesn’t fade: switch the system off at the thermostat and the breaker, and call. If there is smoke or fire, call 911.
What we measure
What we measure on a no-heat call
The same discipline as a no-cooling call: numbers first, then the fix.
- Supply air temperature. What is actually coming out of the vents, against what the heat pump should deliver.
- Strip heat amp draw. Each element checked against its rating, so a dead strip is found, not guessed.
- Refrigerant side readings. The same pressures, superheat and subcooling we take in summer, read in heating mode.
- Defrost control and reversing valve. Whether the unit switches modes when it should.
Said plainly
What we don’t do
We won’t tell you to replace a heat pump that needs a small part. We also won’t keep patching a unit whose repairs cost more than it is worth, and the report will say which one you have.
A gas furnace?
Most Tampa homes heat with the heat pump or electric strips. If your home has a gas furnace, tell the office when you call so we send the right technician. If you ever smell gas or hear a hiss, leave the house now and call the gas utility from outside; the chat says the same.
Questions
Heat pump questions
Is it normal for a heat pump to blow cool air?
Briefly, during a defrost cycle, yes. If it blows cool air for long, it needs a look.
What is Emergency Heat?
A thermostat setting that runs the electric strips only. It is for when the heat pump has failed, not for every cold night.
Why did my bill jump in a cold week?
Strip heat uses far more electricity than the heat pump does. If it ran a lot, the report shows why.
Do I need to service a heat pump differently from an AC?
It is the same outdoor unit, so the same twice-a-year visit covers both seasons.
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Tampa · Hillsborough County
Get somebody out with gauges on the truck.
Tell us what it’s doing. We’ll say what to check first and whether it can wait, and if it can’t, the office will call you to agree a time.