HVAC guidance for Central Florida
Most HVAC advice online is written for a climate that runs cooling four months a year. Ours runs nine. These are written for the conditions you actually have.
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Heating in Florida
Heat pumps, heat strips and the two weeks a year they matter.
AC Repair Tips
Diagnose it yourself before you pay anyone to look at it.
Florida HVAC Problems
The failures that are specific to heat, humidity and salt air.
Energy Savings
What actually lowers a Florida power bill, and what does not.
AC Maintenance Guides
Step-by-step maintenance you can do, and the schedule to follow.
HVAC Replacement Guides
Sizing, SEER2, refrigerants and how to read a quote.
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Aux heat vs emergency heat: what your Florida heat pump is telling you
Aux heat for a few minutes is normal. Aux heat all evening on a 50-degree night is a fault, and it can triple what you pay for heat. What each light means, when to use Emergency Heat, and what to check first.
The best thermostat setting for a heat pump in a Florida winter
For a heat pump, setting 68°F and leaving it alone beats the night-setback advice written for gas furnaces. Why heat pumps punish big temperature swings, how to run Auto mode through an 80-degree-afternoon, 48-degree-night November, and the one setting that matters most.
What it costs to heat an Orlando home: heat pump vs heat strips vs space heaters
Real numbers at Central Florida electricity rates, per hour and per month, for the three ways most Orlando homes stay warm. Plus the one situation where a space heater really is the cheaper option.
Freeze warning tonight? What to do with your heat pump (and why not to cover it)
A Central Florida freeze warning sends people outside with tarps and old blankets. Your heat pump does not need them. There are four things worth doing before dark, and two that will cost you money.
Ice on your heat pump in winter: normal frost or a failed defrost?
A thin coat of frost on a cold, damp Orlando morning is exactly what a heat pump is built to handle. A solid block of ice that never clears is not. How to tell them apart, and what to do until a technician arrives.
Heat won't turn on? Eight things to check before you call
The thermostat says Heat and nothing happens. No air, no sound, no warmth. Most of the causes can be checked in ten minutes with a flashlight. Here they are, in the order a technician checks them.
How cold does Orlando actually get — and is your heat big enough for it?
The airport averages a night or two below freezing a year, but the edges of the metro run colder. What a Central Florida winter really asks of a heat pump or heat kit, and how to tell undersized heat from failing heat.
Mobile home heat not working? Electric furnaces and package units, explained
Manufactured homes heat differently. There is an electric furnace in a hall closet or a package unit outside, ducts in the belly, and parts many contractors do not stock. The usual faults, and what you can check yourself.
Getting your Orlando HVAC ready for winter: a 30-minute checklist
Nine checks, most of them free, that keep the first cold night from turning into a three-day wait for a technician. Do them on a mild afternoon in November.
Winter-ready vacation rentals: the heating checklist for Kissimmee and Davenport hosts
Winter guests turn the dial the other way. The no-heat call on Christmas morning, the thermostat set to 85, the electric bill that eats the booking. And the checklist that heads off all three before the holiday reservations arrive.
Does your Orlando AC have a heater? How to tell in two minutes
Most Central Florida homes heat with the air conditioner — either a heat pump or electric strips hidden in the air handler. Here is how to find out which one you own, and whether you own one at all.
Heat pump blowing cold air in heat mode: normal or broken?
Sometimes a heat pump is supposed to blow cool air for a few minutes. Sometimes it means a reversing valve or defrost board has failed. Here is how to tell which, in the order we check.
What a heat kit costs to add to your AC in Orlando (2026 prices)
Electric heat strips are the cheapest way to give a Florida air handler heat it never had. What the kit costs, what the install involves, which size you need and where the surprise charges hide.
That burning smell when the heat first turns on: normal or not?
The first cold night of the year produces a wave of "my AC smells like it is burning" calls. Usually it is dust. Occasionally it is not. How to tell the difference in the first half hour.
Your AC is running but not cooling — the five likely causes
The blower is on, air is coming out of the vents, but the house is not getting cooler. Here is what that actually means, in order of how often we find it.
Why your house feels cold and clammy (and why a bigger AC makes it worse)
The thermostat says 74°F and the house still feels damp. This is the most misdiagnosed comfort problem in Central Florida, and the usual "fix" makes it worse.
What actually lowers a Florida AC bill (and what is a waste of money)
Ranked by real return: the handful of things that meaningfully cut cooling costs in Central Florida, and the popular advice that does almost nothing.
The Orlando AC maintenance schedule that prevents August breakdowns
What to do monthly, twice a year, and annually — and specifically why the standard once-a-year advice from northern sources does not work here.
How to buy a new AC in Florida without getting taken
Sizing, SEER2 rules, R-32 versus R-410A, and the six questions that separate a real quote from a sales pitch.
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