Electric furnace and heat strip repair in Birmingham, AL
Many Alabama homes have no gas furnace at all, and their heat comes from coils of resistance wire inside the air handler. When those strips stop heating, trip a breaker or smell hot, we trace the fault and repair it.
Electric heat fails in a few predictable places: a burned heating element, a failed sequencer or relay, an open limit switch, or a breaker that trips because something is overheating. Zeltman Heating & Air tests each heat stage with a meter, tells you which part let go and quotes the repair before touching it. We answer the phone 24/7, including the coldest nights.
Signs your electric heat needs a repair visit
Lukewarm air in heat mode
The blower runs but the air from the vents barely feels warm. One or more elements, the sequencer or a relay has likely stopped closing.
A breaker trips when heat comes on
A heat strip breaker that trips right away, or after a few minutes, can mean a shorted element, a failing wire or an overloaded circuit. Do not keep resetting it.
A sharp electrical smell
A light dusty smell on the first cold morning is normal. A sharp, lingering hot plastic or electrical smell is not, and the system should be shut off.
The power bill jumps
Strips that run nonstop behind a heat pump, or a stuck relay that never lets an element turn off, can push the Alabama Power bill up quickly.
The house warms, then stalls
If the house climbs a few degrees and stops, the system may be running on one stage of heat instead of all of them.
Heat cycles off while the fan keeps going
When the limit switch keeps opening, low airflow from a clogged filter or a weak blower motor is often overheating the strips.
How electric heat works inside your air handler
An electric furnace, or an air handler fitted with a heat strip kit, warms air by running current through coils of nichrome wire. The blower pushes air across the glowing coils and out to the rooms. There is no flame, no flue and no gas line, which is why so many all-electric Alabama homes rely on it.
Most of these systems have two or three heating elements that switch on in stages. A sequencer or a set of relays brings each one on a few seconds apart, so the breaker never takes the whole load at once. Every element has a high limit switch, and many also carry a one-time thermal fuse as a backup.
In Birmingham, heat strips usually play one of two roles. Behind a straight AC, they are the only heat source, so a failure means no heat at all. Behind a heat pump, they provide auxiliary heat during defrost and on the coldest nights. When strips fail in that setup, the first clue is often a house stuck in the low 60s during a cold snap.
Electric heat draws heavy current, so loose connections matter more than people expect. A lug that has been slowly overheating for a few winters can char the wire, melt insulation and trip the breaker. We clean, tighten or replace those connections as part of the repair, not as an afterthought.
How an electric heat repair visit works
You call, we ask about breakers
A person answers 24/7. We ask which breakers are tripped and what you smell, and tell you whether to leave the system off until we arrive.
We isolate the power safely
Electric heat runs on 240 volts. The technician shuts off the circuits before opening the cabinet and confirms they are dead with a meter.
We test each stage
Every element, limit, fuse, sequencer and relay is checked for resistance and continuity, then the system is powered back up and measured under load.
You hear what failed and what it costs
We point out the burned element or open switch, say whether airflow caused it, and quote the fix before starting.
We confirm full heat
After the repair we measure amp draw on every stage and the temperature rise across the air handler, so you know all of the heat is back.
What we test on an electric furnace repair
- Breakers, disconnect and supply voltage at the air handler
- Resistance of each heating element
- Sequencers or heat relays and their control voltage
- High limit switches and one-time thermal fuses
- Amp draw on every heat stage under load
- Wire lugs and terminals for heat damage or looseness
- Blower motor, filter and airflow across the strips
- Thermostat staging and auxiliary heat wiring
What electric furnace repair costs in Birmingham
$174 to $865
A sequencer, relay or limit switch sits near the low end. Replacing a burned element or rewiring heat-damaged connections lands in the middle. A complete heat strip kit or a new control board sits higher. You get the price before any work starts.
Ask for a price (659) 777-4129What moves the number
- Which part failed
- A limit switch is a small, quick part. A complete heat strip kit, with elements, fuses and wiring, is a much larger job.
- Size of the heat kit
- A 15 kW kit has more elements, relays and breakers than a 5 kW kit, and parts cost rises with it.
- Heat damage to the wiring
- If a loose lug has charred the supply wire, the repair includes cutting back and replacing that section, which adds time.
- Air handler location
- A closet unit is quick to open. An attic air handler in a hot or cramped space takes longer to work on safely.
- Brand and parts supply
- Heat kits for common Goodman, Rheem and Carrier air handlers are usually on a supply house shelf. Odd or discontinued kits may need to be ordered.
Electric heat in Birmingham homes
Many 1950s through 1970s brick ranches in Huffman, Roebuck and Center Point were converted to all-electric heat. Most now pair a heat pump outside with strips in the air handler. In those homes, the strips earn their keep when a January cold snap drops into the 20s. Newer subdivisions in Helena and Moody lean on heat pumps too, with strips as backup.
Some smaller, older homes still run a straight AC with electric heat and no heat pump. In those houses, a strip failure means a cold house until it is fixed. If a repair would only buy one more winter for an air handler past 20 years, we will say so. We can also price a heat pump installation to compare. From our base on 15th Avenue North, east side calls are a short drive.
Areas we cover most often
We repair and replace equipment from these manufacturers, plus most other makes.
Questions about electric furnace and heat strip repair in Birmingham
The usual causes are a burned heating element, a failed sequencer or relay, an open limit switch or a tripped breaker for the heat strips. A clogged filter can also overheat the strips until a limit opens. We test each part to find the one that cut off the heat.
One reset is reasonable. If it trips again right away or within a few minutes, leave it off. Repeated trips usually mean a shorted element, a failing wire or a connection that is overheating, and forcing the circuit back on can damage the wiring further.
Heat strips often outlast the rest of the air handler when airflow stays healthy. Clogged filters, weak blowers and loose connections shorten that life by making the elements run hot. Replacing one element or a sequencer is a normal repair on an air handler that still has years left.
Aux heat means the strips are helping the heat pump, which is normal in cold weather and during defrost. Emergency heat runs the strips alone with the heat pump locked out. It works in a pinch, but it costs much more to run, so call us if you need it for more than a day.
Yes. Heat strips need steady airflow to carry heat away. Clogged filters and grimy blower wheels let the elements overheat, which trips limit switches and can burn out a thermal fuse. We check airflow on every electric heat call so the same part does not fail again.
If the air handler is old, or you run straight electric heat with an AC, a heat pump usually heats for far less in mild weather, with the strips kept as backup for cold snaps. Repairing the strips makes sense on a younger system. We price both options so you can compare.
Related services and reading
- Air Handler and Blower Motor RepairBlower motors, capacitors, control boards and belts on the indoor unit.
- Heat Pump RepairStuck in defrost, iced over, cold air in heat mode or a reversing valve that will not switch.
- Emergency Heating RepairA cold-snap breakdown handled at any hour, with safety checks before restart.
- Furnace InstallationGas or electric furnaces sized, vented and set up for clean, quiet heat.
- Heat pump or gas furnace for a Birmingham winter?Heating guide
- Thermostat settings for Alabama summers and wintersComfort guide
Need electric furnace and heat strip repair in Birmingham?
We answer 24/7. Tell us what the system is doing and we will tell you what happens next.