Do homes in the Tampa area have heat? (live, warm)

[MortonR]

Understand that these cold temperatures don't last for any length of time, and typically occur at the coldest part of the day for a short duration - immediately before sunrise. Within a few hours temperatures gradually increase to a level above freezing.

For things like exposed pipes to freeze, it would have to get below freezing and stay that way for a while. Very, very rare here.

Nearly all construction here has heat pumps, which provide AC during warm days and heat during cold days. They will also have "auxiliary" or "back up" heat, which is nothing more than resistive elements or "heat strips" in the air handler. If the outside air temperature drops below freezing the heat pump can't extract much heat out of the ambient air, so the heat strips are turned on. This would be similar to an electric furnace, only on a smaller scale.

Not a concern.

RM

[kbrkr]

Our heat pump is worthless. I don't know if it's a defective unit, or the nature of the beast, but we have to supplement our heat with Oil filled radiators to help warm the house. I WISH we had a fireplace, but we don't. ;-( Like the others, 50's is really chilly when your accustomed to the mid-80's for 6 months.

[engineman]

Old houses may have a gas or propane heater and window air conditioners. We bought our first brand new house in FL in 1973 and it had a heat pump.

[bentlebee]

Originally Posted by so954

The lowest temperature ever recorded in Tampa was 18 °F (−8 °C) on December 13, 1962.[59] The last measurable snow in Tampa fell on January 19, 1977, with a total accumulation of 0.2 inches (0.5 cm). Three major freezes occurred in the 1980s: in January 1982, January 1985, and December 1989. The losses suffered by farmers forced many to sell off their citrus groves, which helped fuel a boom in subdivision development in the 1990s and 2000s.[63][64]

Well that was almost 53 years ago and you are right it happened but very rare to happen.

But that doesn't change the fact as I stated that tenants are required to receive heating as heating is an emergency item.

[jsun556]

Also the first day of the season you turn the heat on will make it smell like your house is about to burn down. Every Floridian north of central FL knows this smell.

[Vannort54]

Originally Posted by jsun556

Also the first day of the season you turn the heat on will make it smell like your house is about to burn down. Every Floridian north of central FL knows this smell.

The reason for the smell is the dust on the heat strips is burning off, same as a gas furnace with a blower motor up north dose. Just dust and dirt burning off the burners.

[BucFan]

you'd be surprised to know we have indoor plumbing as well......but regarding heat, I can count on one hand the number of days that I've actually used mine.......put on a sweatshirt and long pants.

[Vannort54]

Originally Posted by BucFan

you'd be surprised to know we have indoor plumbing as well......but regarding heat, I can count on one hand the number of days that I've actually used mine.......put on a sweatshirt and long pants.

LIving here now the only time I were pants and a sweatshirt or my leather jacket in the winter is when I'm on my bike and still not that bad. Compared to Michigan when I worked outside in -45 wind chill in the winter the winter months here are tropical to me.

[MortonR]

If you have lived north of the Mason-Dixon Line you're used to gas or electric heat that comes out of the register hot enough to almost burn you. The temperature rise that heat pumps, even with auxiliary heat, provide is much lower than electric or gas forced air. As a result, people feel like it's "cold" even when the air is warmer than ambient temperatures.

RM

[Vannort54]

Originally Posted by MortonR

If you have lived north of the Mason-Dixon Line you're used to gas or electric heat that comes out of the register hot enough to almost burn you. The temperature rise that heat pumps, even with auxiliary heat, provide is much lower than electric or gas forced air. As a result, people feel like it's "cold" even when the air is warmer than ambient temperatures.

RM

The new heat pump that was installed 2 years ago were I live and also a new heat strip warms up our 1,200 town home pretty good nice hot air comes through our registers.