You will likly need more than one but first you should make certain the existing strip(s) is working. You should check breaker and relay capacities before adding strips. Bottom line is if you have to ask,don't mess with it,hire a pro for your own safty.

Thx, i will not be DIYing it, i just need to make sure i buy the right size, i have a pro ready to install as soon as i get it. The one i have is brand new and working, just not getting hot air to all the rooms in the house, the rooms closest to the attic unit are fine, the others, not so much

The pro should be the one buying the parts needed not the home owner.

Sounds like the beginning stages of a house fire in progress if you ask me.

LOL, not exactly, i buy all my equipment from a dealer out of Florida for much better prices than here in New Orleans, free shipping, no tax to my front door. All the pro does is charge for labor. So i guess this question isn't as easy to answer as i thought. I was hoping there some type of calculation that could be used to determine he size, but i must be mistaken.

"blow warm in some rooms, cool in others"

If that's the case, I doubt it's the heat strips. You need to get a competent AC person to diagnose the problem.

All the pro does is charge for labor.

If the pro doesn't charge for over head and all other expenses he won't be considered "A Pro" for long.

Part costs are only a small fraction of the overall job, as most parts these days aren't made in USA.

Buying a part simply because it's cheap? Doesn't sound like a wise plan to me. No one that experiences an electrical fire said: I could see it coming a mile away.

If that was the case there would be no such thing as electrical fires. Of which if we are being honest here we know isn't true.

Hi, HU,

The rating of heating strips you'll need to heat your home is determined from a heating load calculation that considers not only the size of your living area, but the solar orientation of your home, its construction, insulation, window areas and U-values, winter temperatures in your climate zone, etc.

If you size and select components, keep in mind that any deficiency in their performance is on you--not the installer.

... just not getting hot air to all the rooms in the house, the rooms closest to the attic unit are fine, the others, not so much

This sounds like a potential duct problem. A 10 KW heat strip will generate about 34,000 BTU. Without knowing any details of your house in New Orleans that seems a sufficient amout of heat for the climate. Was the current heat strip wired correctly? If it was wired for 120 V opeation then it will only produce half the amount of rated heat.

Had an HVAC pro come check it out and they said that my runs were too long to carry the heat to the rooms that were not close to the unit. Does this make sense?

What is the longest distance from the air handler to the supply grille? Did the HVAC pro state what is the maximum length which will work?

Unfortunately they did not give me that information

I think they're blowing smoke up your dress, so to speak. With respect to heating, you've got two issues: first, generating sufficient heat to offset the heat loss of the various living spaces and second, distributing the required heat to various living areas as required. The first issue speaks to the capacity of the electrical strip heaters. The second speaks to the capability of the air handler blower/motor to distribute heated air to all areas of the home.

Hmmm, so again my original thought was the size of the strip, if it produces more heat, my thought is, more heat to push out to the whatever rooms in the house.

Ughhhh, forgive me if i came across that way, just trying to heat the family my man, thx :)

Spent $500 on a HVAC company, supposedly reputable to reseal my ducts and tell me the runs were too long . . .not sure how you can fix long runs, i can't move the system, but hey, maybe there is no solution, IDK but i appreciate everyone's help, real talk

If the runs are "too long" two things come to mind:

1. heat is being lost in the run - probably only relevant in uninsulated ducts.

2. you need more airflow to these "long" ducts.

Either way, a competent AV company can tell you which.

Thx

There is always a solution however the solution may not be to your wallet's liking. No one here can determine exactly what you need without being there. So many variables involved. I can say I'd never have that small of a KW for 2000sq feet. IMO, you need at least 15KW just based on square footage alone without taking into account the various heating loads. NOLA homes are usually accompanied with large heat losses throughout. But you can't just jump from one KW size to another without having to potentially upside your wiring and breaker(s). Unless the electrical was already set up to handle a larger amperage pull, then that cost will be involved. Then you have to move the air down the longer runs which may require a larger unit. What brand and model is your current unit? You really need to know how long and what diameter those runs are to determine what is now needed. So regardless of any heat losses you still have to move the air to the other rooms.

One other thing you can try before dumping a bunch of money. You say the rooms closest to the attic are fine. Are they so fine that you can take some heat from them? Are they receiving more than needed both warm and cfm wise? If so, then you could potentially close off those a little with dampers so more air and heat is pushed down the other runs. Just a thought.

By the way, when I say close off with dampers a little, I mean close off a little at the plenum where the ducts connect not at the supply grills. The airflow needs to change that point.

Thx, i appreciate it, i do believe i can handle a larger load on the breaker, i recall one tech mentioning that before, and the damper idea may be a go as well.