Heating Services in St. Petersburg, FL

Value Air & Heat provides heating system repair, heating installation and replacement, furnace installation, and heat pump repair, installation, and service for homes in St. Petersburg, Seminole, and Pinellas Park. Our technicians work on heat pumps, electric furnaces, air handlers with heat strips, and gas furnaces from all major brands. Call 727-418-3211 to schedule service or a free in-home estimate.

Set your thermostat to 68°F while you’re home and awake, which the U.S. Department of Energy recommends for efficient heating. Most St. Petersburg homeowners are comfortable between 68°F and 70°F. If you have a heat pump, avoid big nighttime setbacks. Raising the temperature more than 2 to 3 degrees at once can trigger the backup heat strips, which cost far more to run. A smart thermostat with adaptive recovery warms your home gradually instead.

Auxiliary heat turns on automatically when your heat pump needs help, such as during a cold snap, a defrost cycle, or a large thermostat increase. Emergency heat is a manual setting that shuts off the heat pump and heats your home with the electric heat strips alone. Use emergency heat only when the outdoor unit is damaged or not working, and call a technician, because running on heat strips alone sharply increases your electric bill.

A light burning smell the first time you turn on the heat each season is usually normal. Dust settles on the heat strips or furnace burners during Florida’s long cooling season and burns off once they warm up, and the odor should fade within an hour. If it lingers, smells like melting plastic or hot wiring, or the breaker trips, turn the system off and call for heating repair. If you smell gas, leave your home right away and call for emergency service.
Link “heating repair” and “emergency service” to those pages.

Light frost on the outdoor coil is normal when temperatures drop into the 30s and 40s with high humidity. Your heat pump clears it with a defrost cycle, which can briefly cause steam, a whooshing sound, and a short pause in warm air for about 5 to 15 minutes. If the unit stays covered in thick ice for more than an hour or two, or the outdoor fan stops spinning, it needs professional heat pump service.

Yes. Heat pumps are designed to run longer, steadier cycles than furnaces, so near-constant operation on mornings in the 30s or low 40s is expected. It becomes a problem when your home can’t reach the thermostat setting, the air from your vents feels cool, or Aux Heat stays on for hours during mild weather. Those signs often point to a dirty filter or coil, low refrigerant, or a failing component.

Most St. Petersburg homes heat with electricity, and the biggest cost driver is electric heat strips. A heat pump moves existing heat and delivers roughly 2 to 4 units of heat for every unit of electricity it uses, while heat strips produce only 1. When heat strips run often because of a cold snap, a big thermostat change, a clogged filter, or a heat pump that isn’t working properly, your bill can climb quickly. A heating inspection can confirm whether your heat strips are running more than they should.

Set your thermostat to Heat and check the outdoor unit. If it starts running, you have a heat pump. If it stays off while warm air still comes from your vents, your home is heating with electric heat strips in the indoor air handler or with a furnace. A thermostat with an Em Heat or Aux setting, or the words “heat pump” on the outdoor unit’s data label, also indicate a heat pump system.

Yes. A yearly heating check is still worth it, ideally in October or November before the first cold front. Dust builds up on idle heat strips, and heat pumps run all year, so wear often shows up in heating mode. A heating tune-up tests the reversing valve, defrost controls, heat strips, and electrical connections. For gas furnaces, it also includes a burner and heat exchanger inspection and a carbon monoxide check.

No. Never cover a heat pump while it’s in use. Tarps and covers block the airflow it needs to pull heat from the outdoor air and can trap moisture that freezes on the coil. Instead, keep about 2 feet of clearance around the unit, clear away leaves and debris, and turn off sprinklers that spray the unit, since that water can freeze on the coil and fan. If ice builds up and doesn’t clear during defrost, call for service.