How to Diagnose Electric Heat or Backup Heat Problems & Diagnose Other Electric Heater Problems InspectAPedia® -
How to diagnose loss of or insufficient electric heat in buildings
How to test a staged electric furnace
Electric heat choices, electric heat wiring and installation tips and safety suggestions
Questions & answers about electric heating systems: buying, installing, diagnosing & repairing electric heat and electric backup heat systems
Electric heat diagnosis & repair; here we explain how to diagnose & repair electric heat that has stopped working - testing the heating elements in an electric furnace; we include simple inspection & test procedures for other electric heaters such as electric baseboards and wall or floor mounted electric heaters.
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This website answers most questions about all types of heating systems and gives important inspection, safety, and repair advice.
The heating system articles provided at this website explain how to inspect and detect defects and hazards on heating systems, boilers, furnaces, and other equipment. Methods for saving on heating cost and on improving heating safety are included. If you don't know what kind of heat your building uses, we explain how to figure out the answer at HEATING SYSTEM TYPES. Sketch at page top courtesy of Carson Dunlop
How to Diagnose & Repair Electric Heat that Has Stopped Working or is Not Hot Enough
Test & Diagnose Procedure for Electric Furnace Heating Elements
What do we check if our electric heat is not working? There are a few basic things to check yourself. Other steps require an expert. Sketches courtesy of Carson Dunlop.
Is the thermostat asking for heat? Be sure you know where all of the thermostats for your electric heat are located. Some heaters such as flush-in-floor electric heaters may use a wall-mounted thermostat while other electric baseboard heaters may have individual thermostats on each baseboard unit. In a bathroom with electric radiant heat in the floor, Carson Dunlop suggests finding that hidden thermostat, perhaps inside the sink vanity.
Is electrical power on to the heater? Check the fuses or circuit breakers that supply each electric heater.
If the electric furnace does not seem to be making heat, the electrician or heating technician will use an ammeter to test each of the heating elements to see if one or more of them is not working. She will also check first to confirm that electrical power is on to the unit. If one or more of the staged electric heaters in the furnace has failed, the furnace may make warm air, but not enough warm air in very cold conditions.
Check the air temperature rise across the electric furnace. When the furnace has been operating for 20 minutes or longer, typically the temperature at the return plenum (the lower thermometer in the sketch) will show about 70 deg .F. and the supply plenum temperature will be between 120 deg .f. and 125 deg .f. If the supply plenum temperature is too high (over130 deg .f.) something's wrong and you should call a heating service technician.
Check radiant heat ceiling panels for wire interruptions. If someone drove an nail into a radiant panel heat ceiling or in the attic above they damaged a wire or heating panel, you may find that that room no longer has heat. We use a hand-held infra-red thermometer scanner to quickly check radiant heat floors and ceilings.
Simple Field Test of Electric Wall or Floor Heater Operation
A simple test procedure if an electric floor or wall heater appears not to be working.
WARNING: shock and electrocution hazards are present. Do not attempt to work on live electrical equipment unless you are trained and qualified to do so.
Check the electrical connections for the electric heater first, visually looking for signs of overheating. Then with a VOM and power on (if you are qualified and thus won't get electrocuted)
Check in the fuse or circuit breaker panel to confirm that electrical power is on and supplied to the electric heater.
Using a voltage tester or a VOM, test the heating element for continuity between its two electrical connection terminals. See tests for electric hot water heaters for details.
Using a voltage tester or a VOM, test for voltage on the circuit wires entering the heater enclosure. If no voltage is detected, work backwards from the heater through junction boxes to trace and find a problem with the electrical circuit supplying the device.
See these electrical inspection and test articles:
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Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
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Electric Heating System Inspection & Diagnosis Detailed Articles
Air Duct Systems for Heating & Cooling - duct defects, inspections, repairs, duct cleaning, flooded ducts, leaky air ducts, moldy duct systems, indoor air quality
Heating Cost Reduction Advice: How to Save on Home Heating Costs - Book Review & Actual Heating Savings and Energy Savings Tips for homeowners and service technicians
Heating Loss Diagnosis: How to diagnose loss of heat, when the oil burner, boiler, or furnace won't run, or when the system runs but heat is not delivered to the living area
Odors From Heating Systems - a list of articles addressing the sources of odors produced by various types of heating systems - how to find, diagnose, and correct these possibly dangerous conditions.
Thermal Tracking & Stains & Signs of Heat Loss how to recognize thermal tracking or thermal bridging & how to diagnose Stains on Ceilings & Walls, Building Air Leaks & Insulation Defects, as well as other indoor air quality or building concerns
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
Domestic and Commercial Oil Burners, Charles H. Burkhardt, McGraw Hill Book Company, New York 3rd Ed 1969.
National Fuel Gas Code (Z223.1) $16.00 and National Fuel Gas Code Handbook (Z223.2) $47.00 American Gas Association (A.G.A.), 1515 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209 also available from National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269. Fundamentals of Gas Appliance Venting and Ventilation, 1985, American Gas Association Laboratories, Engineering Services Department. American Gas Association, 1515 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209. Catalog #XHO585. Reprinted 1989.
The Steam Book, 1984, Training and Education Department, Fluid Handling Division, ITT [probably out of print, possibly available from several home inspection supply companies] Fuel Oil and Oil Heat Magazine, October 1990, offers an update,
Principles of Steam Heating, $13.25 includes postage. Fuel oil & Oil Heat Magazine, 389 Passaic Ave., Fairfield, NJ 07004.
The Lost Art of Steam Heating, Dan Holohan, 516-579-3046 FAX
Principles of Steam Heating, Dan Holohan, technical editor of Fuel Oil and Oil Heat magazine, 389 Passaic Ave., Fairfield, NJ 07004 ($12.+1.25 postage/handling).
"Residential Hydronic (circulating hot water) Heating Systems", Instructional Technologies Institute, Inc., 145 "D" Grassy Plain St., Bethel, CT 06801 800/227-1663 [home inspection training material] 1987
"Warm Air Heating Systems". Instructional Technologies Institute, Inc., 145 "D" Grassy Plain St., Bethel, CT 06801 800/227-1663 [home inspection training material] 1987
Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning Volume I, Heating Fundamentals,
Boilers, Boiler Conversions, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23389-4 (v. 1) Volume II, Oil, Gas, and Coal Burners, Controls, Ducts, Piping, Valves, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23390-7 (v. 2) Volume III, Radiant Heating, Water Heaters, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, Heat Pumps, Air Cleaners, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23383-5 (v. 3) or ISBN 0-672-23380-0 (set) Special Sales Director, Macmillan Publishing Co., 866 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022. Macmillan Publishing Co., NY
Installation Guide for Residential Hydronic Heating Systems
Installation Guide #200, The Hydronics Institute, 35 Russo Place, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922
The ABC's of Retention Head Oil Burners, National Association of Oil Heat Service Managers, TM 115, National Old Timers' Association of the Energy Industry, PO Box 168, Mineola, NY 11501. (Excellent tips on spotting problems on oil-fired heating equipment. Booklet.)
Links to our list of additional information on heating system inspection, repair, maintenance
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