Snap a photo — see what it is, how urgent, who to call.
One photo of the problem. fixRAgent reads it and gives you a Triage Profile.
Triage a photo nowNo sign-up.
Usually not an emergency. If it smells like burning, sparks, or trips the breaker, switch it off at the breaker and leave it off until it is checked.
Take the photo. We’ll tell you what it is.
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Managing this for someone else? Managers: set it up for your buildings →
Managing this for someone else? There is a version of this for whole portfolios.
Managers: set it up for your buildings →“Upper element circuit failure”
— A.O. Smith, A.O. Smith Hybrid Electric Heat Pump Water Heater Service Handbook. Codes vary by model: check your heat pump water heater’s own manual.
In plain words, 021 is about the heating circuit — an element, a relay or a safety limit in the heating path.
A.O. Smith gives 3 other heating circuit codes for this heat pump water heater: 022 (Lower element circuit failure), 083 (Heat Pump Compressor suction pressure is too low), 084 (Heat Pump Compressor is not functioning).
Next to 021 in A.O. Smith’s table: 009 (Power supply voltage is too low or too high) and 022 (Lower element circuit failure).
Safety: If it smells like burning, sparks, or trips the breaker, switch it off at the breaker and leave it off until it is checked.
At least THIS WEEK. fixRAgent treats this code as a this-week repair: the appliance has reported a fault, but the code alone does not point at a safety hazard. This is fixRAgent’s reading, not the manufacturer’s. A photo can raise it — water near wiring, scorch marks, a gas smell — but a code never lowers what the photo shows.
Plumber. Have the model and serial numbers from the label ready — a photo of the label works.
Check whether your model is under a safety recall on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s site: cpsc.gov/Recalls. Your owner’s manual is on A.O. Smith’s support site; search it with the model number from the label.