Electric furnace not producing heat

Symptoms

• Blower may run but air stays cool
• No heat at all, blower included
• Breaker may have tripped

Likely causes

• CommonTripped breaker for the furnace or one of its heating elementsElectric furnaces often have multiple heating elements, each on its own breaker, so one tripped element can mean partial or no heat.
• CommonFailed heating elementElements can burn out individually after years of cycling on and off.
• CommonDirty filter causing a safety limit to cut off the elementsRestricted airflow can trip a high-limit switch that disables the heating elements.
• PossibleFaulty sequencer or control boardThis component times when each element turns on and can fail, preventing heat.
• PossibleFailed blower motorWithout airflow, safety switches will often prevent the elements from heating at all.

What to do

1. Check the breaker panel for any tripped breakers related to the furnace, including any separate element breakers.
2. Replace the air filter if it's dirty, since restricted airflow is a common trigger for a no-heat safety shutdown.
3. Reset breakers once; if any trip again immediately, leave them off and don't keep resetting.
4. Listen for the blower running; if it runs but air stays cold, the elements or sequencer are the likely culprits.
5. If the blower doesn't run at all, treat it as a blower motor issue rather than a heating element problem.
6. Call an HVAC technician to test individual heating elements and the sequencer, since this involves testing live high-voltage circuits.

Tools and parts

When to call a pro

Call an HVAC technician to test heating elements, the sequencer, and breakers if basic checks don't restore heat.

Safety