I called the maintenance because I had no heat last week (when it was cold this week I have the AC on again! crazy weather). Apparently the heater was from 1982 the original from when this place was built the element broke at the lead wire weld so UN-fixable (well not with-out high end tech tools) so it was replaced the newer one is the same 5'/60" however the wattage is not the same as the old 38 year old unit (yes it is the right voltage it is dual rated though at 208/240VAC so was the old one) the newer one is actually less watts. They also changed the wall thermostat because I told them the heater never shut off and was on as long as the knob was not in the "off" detent position and they found a melted wire nut and the temperature cycling contact was stuck closed therefore always on. The heater works now but why are these newer ones not as powerful as the one before it?

Hi All, After 45+ years of home ownership we just moved into our 5th home (new build 3 bedroom @ 1,400 sq. ft.) but it is our first home that is all electric so bear with me. I have a good understanding of the diffs in electric & gas furnaces with the electric not being as efficient or "as hot" so-to-speak, but I want to be sure that our issue is somewhat normal for a electric furnace. The problem is the extreme temp variance at the registers. I realize that registers farther away from the box are gonna be cooler, but I have chosen 2 registers, both right at 20 feet from the box. One register is in the great room (vaulted ceiling), and the other register is in one of the smaller bedrooms. After about 10 - 15 minutes of the furnace running the temp at the great room register is about 90 degrees. The temp at the bedroom register is about 120 degrees. As mentioned both registers are 20 feet from the box. It's understandable that circumstances may dictate a slight diff, but 20+ degrees seems a bit much. Any ideas or is this normal? On a side note:...while the actual furnace is quieter than a gas unit, the air flow from the farthest registers is extremely noisy. I would compare the sound coming from the noisiest registers to that of about a Cat - 1 hurricane....LOL. With the temp differences and the noise....it's almost as though something may not have been done correctly during the install of the unit. Any opinions are welcomed, and sorry for the lengthy post. Thanks