Our house isnt getting warm anymore. The themostat is turned up (well past room temp) but the house never warms above 60-62 degrees. This morning, it was so cold I turned the themostat up to 90 but the heat never came on. Its all electric. (Yes the electric bill was paid). Also we've noticed that the vents blow cold air - even with the heat on. The fan works (both on ON and AUTO positions). I'm thinking its either the themostat itself OR something with the unit. If possible, I'd like to be able to fix it w/o calling a specialist, OR atleast be able to assist in the diaganosis before calling the landlord for repairs.. Completely new to ch/a, so my apologies for the limited info. Any help would be appreciated.. Also, if there is an issue with either the unit or the themostat, would it cause my electric bill to jump?? (in one month the bill more than doubled and hasnt come down much - though we've attempted to control electric usage)..
Here is my guess, Electric bill was going up and you have not changed anything. Other than the weather outside that was really cold. So my guess here is that the heat sequencer was stuck, and the electric heat was on 24.7 with out you even knowing. And probably whats happened is the heating element is broke. So you got blower action but no heat. A resting kit is in order and new sequencers Here is what the thing would look like out of the unit. notice the sping looking things thats whats probablu broke
If theres no heat and there's good air moving out of the vents than the blower is good what is most likely wrong is the heating elements in the electric heat exchanger has gone bad although not unheard of it's really not too expensive to fix as far as parts go and not hard as far as tec being there but you will have to have a certified tec diagnose the furnace mainly because it runs on 208-230 and that could kill you if taken across the chest with the right amperage, heating elements work like a household blow dryer, resistance in the metal makes the electricity in the wire get really hot, if the fan wasn't blowing when the elements where heating up than they would over heat and blow a fuse or if that fails fry the fusible link which would make for a open circuit in the element so no electricity can flow, if there's no electricity flow there's not much usage and your bill shouldn't spike, also if your bill has been higher lately that could mean the air handler has been running longer and more often because it could have been running off one element which couldn't keep up, I would say call your land lord they should fix it any how if you are renting, wasn't your falt happens all the time.
Since it seems you're a renter, call the landlord ASAP and tell him that the heat isn't working. The responsibility is immediately passed on to him. He'll likely have a tech come out to diagnose the problem. In the meantime, get some extra blankets!
WEll I'm taking a guess, but maybe you have a heat pump if it's all electric. Look at the t-stat and see if there is a emergency heat setting. If there is, turn it to that setting and turn the stat up. That should lock out the outdoor unit and run just the heat strips in the furnace. If that helps heat the house, leave it there and call a service tech. THat should get you by until they arrive. Hope this helps. God luck!
