Why Is My Heater Blowing Cold Air?

You may sometimes find that your electric wall heater has the fan running, but the heater is not discharging warm air. An electric heater that blows cold air could be caused by one or more of the following reasons:

• The manual reset has tripped.
• The fan switch is “on” and the thermostat setting is below the actual temperature
• The fan is dispersing this air after shutdown
• There may be a loose wire coming from the elements
• The heater element may be defective

Here are some ways you could troubleshoot if you come across the issues listed above:

Manual Reset has Tripped: 

If the manual reset limit control has opened the heater circuit due to excessive operating temperatures, the heater will not work until the manual reset limit button is pressed. This could be due to blockages and the heater might need to be cleaned. Cadet models that need a manual reset.

The fan switch is “on” and the thermostat setting is below the actual temperature

In case you see the fan is running but there is no warm air coming out, check to see what the temperature is on the thermostat. You can adjust the thermostat to a higher temperature and wait for the heating element to reach operating temperature 

The fan is dispersing this air after shutdown

Some of our heaters have a timed-delay switch built in that automatically operates the fan for a short time after the elements are turned off. So, you might find that the cold air blowing is a short term situation and may persist for another five minutes or so to blow out the warm air inside the unit.

Another reason could be that some of our heaters like the Energy Plus have a ‘fan only’ setting that let you use the fan with turning the thermostat all the way down.

There may be a loose wire coming from the elements

If you see that some of the supply connections are loose, turn off the power at the main disconnect panel. Inspect and/or tighten all the wire connectors inside the heater and at any connection points inside junction boxes or at the wall thermostat.

The heater element may be defective

The heating element of your heater is what converts electrical energy into heat. It is as crucial to your heater as the engine of your car. If your heating element has failed, you can do nothing but to replace the heater.

The easy fixes of resetting your heater manually, or tightening loose wiring can be done by referring to the owner’s manual. However, if there are more serious issues concerning the heating element, it is best to either call a licensed electrician or replace the heater entirely. 

Refer to our product downloads page to find owner’s manuals for all our products. You can also find these manuals on each product page individually.