Furnace Repair in Richmond, VA
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Richmond will get in touch.
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Richmond asks a lot of your furnace, seven months at a time
From October through April your furnace is the thing standing between your house and a 30 degree night. That is seven months of the burner lighting, running, and shutting off, night after night. Most homes here heat with electricity, so when the power goes out, the furnace stops with it. Virginia logged 22% of households losing power for at least 24 hours in 2024, and Richmond has seen ten winter storms and fifteen damaging wind events over the past ten years. That mix of hard cold and lost power is what wears down an igniter or trips a limit switch, and you notice it when the house has gone quiet and the thermostat is not doing anything about it.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 30°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 10 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Virginia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license belongs to the contractor, not to each job. The Board for Contractors is the one that tested them and holds their record, so that record follows the contractor from one furnace repair to the next rather than being pulled fresh for this visit.
Virginia does allow an exception for work under $1,000, which a furnace repair can sometimes fall under depending on what's wrong with it. If the job comes in under that amount, the contractor doing it is not required to hold the state license. A furnace runs on gas, and the connection and venting are the part where a mistake turns dangerous. Above that $1,000 line, the license is what stands behind whoever is making that connection.
Sources: Virginia General Assembly · Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat the way it should, or the furnace isn't getting power. Check that the thermostat is set below room temperature and has working batteries if it uses them. After that, look at the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit, and the breaker for the furnace. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch may have failed, and that needs a contractor to check.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If the fan runs but no heat comes out, the furnace may be stuck on fan-only mode. Check the thermostat is set to heat, not just fan. A dirty flame sensor or a failed igniter can also stop the burners from lighting while the blower keeps running, so air moves through the vents without ever getting warm. Either of those needs a contractor to inspect and clean or replace.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple has worn out and can no longer hold the gas valve open once you let go of the button. A draft near the pilot or a dirty pilot opening can also cause it. Newer furnaces don't use a standing pilot at all, so if this is happening on a recent furnace, the issue is something else and a contractor should look at it.