Furnace Repair in Boca Raton for Electric Heat and Heat Strips
In most Boca Raton homes the furnace is not a separate box burning gas. It is the electric heat inside your air handler, the same cabinet that holds the AC coil and blower. When the heat will not come on, smells wrong, or runs your bill up on a cool morning, that cabinet is where Direct Cooling starts.
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What a Furnace Usually Means in a South Florida Home
Trane describes electric heat strips as backup heat that is installed in the indoor air handling unit. In South Florida that air handler, in a hallway closet, garage or attic, is what most homeowners mean when they say furnace. The strips are coils of resistance wire that glow hot when the thermostat calls for heat, and the blower pushes air across them and out through the same ducts your AC uses.
Homes here are set up one of two ways. Some have a straight air conditioner with heat strips doing all of the heating. Others have a heat pump that heats by running the refrigeration cycle in reverse, with the strips kept as backup. Either way the strips, the controls that switch them and the safety switches that protect them live in that one cabinet, and that is what we diagnose on a furnace repair call.
How Often Electric Heat Runs in Boca Raton
NOAA's 1991-2020 normals for West Palm Beach International Airport, the nearest long-record station, explain why a heating problem often goes unnoticed until the first cold front.
Mild Januarys
January averages a low of 57.9°F and a high of 74.7°F.
A short season
About 21 nights a year drop below 50°F, mostly December through February.
Real cold is rare
About 2.6 nights a year fall below 40°F, and the normals show no freezing nights.
Why that matters
Heat strips can sit unused for most of the year, so dust and worn parts tend to show up on the first cold morning.
Electric Heat Problems: What You Can Check and What Needs a Technician
A few checks are safe for any homeowner. Anything inside the air handler cabinet is not, because the heat strips run on a high-voltage circuit.
Safe to do yourself
- A burning smell on the first runAmerican Standard says dust that settled over the off-season burns off when the heat first runs, and that it should only last a few minutes.
- The thermostat settingConfirm it is set to Heat and to a temperature above the room. A heat pump thermostat may show AUX while the strips help out, which is normal.
- The air filterA clogged filter starves the blower of air. Replace it if it is dark or more than a few months old.
- Supply and return ventsMake sure furniture or rugs are not blocking the return grille or the vents in the rooms that feel cold.
Stop and call a pro
- A smell that lastsAmerican Standard and Trane both advise turning the heat off and calling a professional if a burning smell persists more than an hour.
- An electrical or hot-plastic odorTrane warns that a burning electrical odor can mean a serious electrical problem. Turn the system off and call.
- AUX that never shuts offTrane says aux heat staying on when it is above 40°F outside can point to a heat pump or thermostat problem.
- A breaker that trips againIf the heat breaker trips a second time, leave it off. Repeated trips mean something in the circuit needs testing.
- Fan runs, air stays coolAir moving with no warmth on a heat call usually means a failed element, sequencer or safety switch.
What We Test on an Electric Furnace or Heat Strip Kit
Our technicians work through the parts in the order the heat travels, with the power checked off before the panel comes open.
- Heating elementsEach strip is tested for continuity and amp draw, so a partly failed kit is caught, not just a dead one.
- Sequencers and relaysThese switch the strips on in stages. A stuck relay can leave you with no heat or with heat that never shuts off.
- Limit and thermal safety switchesThey cut power if the cabinet overheats. We find out why one opened, not just whether it reset.
- Blower motor and capacitorNo airflow means no heat delivered, and strips without airflow overheat. The blower is checked with the heat.
- Thermostat wiring and stagingWrong wiring or settings can call for strips when the heat pump could do the job, which shows up on the power bill.
- Breaker and wiringWe confirm the circuit, connections and wire condition at the air handler, where loose or heat-darkened terminals tend to start.
Heat Strips vs a Heat Pump: What the Difference Costs You in Electricity
Both kinds of system put warm air through the same ducts. The difference is how much electricity each unit of heat takes.
| Electric furnace or heat strips | Heat pump | |
|---|---|---|
| How it makes heat | Electricity runs through resistance coils that get hot | Moves heat from outdoor air indoors; strips only as backup |
| Electricity used for heat | One unit of heat for each unit of electricity | About 50% less heating electricity than resistance heat (U.S. DOE) |
| When the strips run | Every time the heat is on | Below about 40°F, during defrost, or when the setting jumps 3 to 4 degrees (Trane) |
| Typical repair here | Elements, sequencers, limit switches | Reversing valve and defrost controls, plus the backup strips |
With so few cold nights in Palm Beach County, a working set of strips is often fine to keep. When the AC itself is due for replacement, a heat pump is the usual efficiency upgrade, and our heat pump guide covers that choice.
Before the First Cool Night of the Season
Ten minutes in November saves a no-heat call on the one morning everyone in Boca wants heat.
- Run the heat for a few minutes on a mild afternoon while you are home, and let any dust smell burn off with a window open.
- Replace the air filter so the blower has full airflow across the strips.
- Check that the thermostat switches cleanly between Cool and Heat and that warm air reaches the farthest room.
- Clear anything stored in front of the air handler closet or return grille.
- If the heat smells electrical, trips the breaker, or never warms up, call before the cold front arrives.
Heat strips run on a high-voltage circuit, and the elements stay hot after they shut off. Turn the system off at the thermostat and call or text (561) 210-7605. We are on call 24 hours for emergencies.
Where We Handle Furnace Repair
Furnace and heat strip repairs dispatch from our office in Boca Commerce Park in west Boca. Tap a pin for the city.
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Furnace and Electric Heat Questions
Direct CoolingFL Certified AC Contractor CAC1819111 Dispatch 24/7 Hi, this is Direct Cooling. Tap a question below for a straight answer.
Tap a question to ask
- Do homes in Boca Raton have furnaces?
- Most have electric heat built into the air handler rather than a separate gas furnace. That heat comes from strips in the same cabinet as the AC coil and blower, either as the only heat or as backup to a heat pump.
- Why does my heat smell like burning the first time I turn it on?
- Usually it is dust burning off the strips after months without use. American Standard says it should only last a few minutes. If it lasts more than an hour, or smells electrical, turn the heat off and call.
- Why did my electric bill jump on a cold morning?
- Electric strips turn one unit of electricity into one unit of heat. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates a heat pump uses about 50% less electricity for heating than resistance heat, so a home heating only with strips, or a heat pump leaning on them, pays more on cold days.
- My thermostat says AUX. Is something wrong?
- Not by itself. Trane notes aux heat comes on below about 40 degrees, during defrost, or when you raise the setting by more than 3 or 4 degrees. If AUX stays on when it is warmer than that, call for service.
- Should I repair my heat strips or switch to a heat pump?
- With so few cold nights here, a repaired set of strips is often the sensible choice. When the AC is due for replacement anyway, a heat pump is the usual efficiency upgrade, and we will lay out both options.
No Heat or a Burning Smell?
Call or text (561) 210-7605 and tell us what the thermostat shows and what you smell or hear. A photo of the air handler label helps us bring the right parts.
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Learn moreSources · page reviewed 2026-10-08
- Trane, Heat pump auxiliary heat, read 2026-10-08
- American Standard, Why does my heater smell like it is burning?, read 2026-10-08
- Trane, Why your heater smells like it is burning, read 2026-10-08
- NOAA NCEI, 1991-2020 monthly normals, West Palm Beach Intl (USW00012844), read 2026-10-06
- U.S. DOE, Energy Saver Guide (2022), read 2026-10-06