Furnace Repair in Scottsville, VA
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Albemarle County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Seven months of work, most of it on cold nights
Your furnace runs from October through April in Scottsville, seven months of the year. Winter nights average 28°F from December through February, so the burner is cycling on and off most nights to keep up. Every cycle depends on the igniter lighting the gas cleanly, and that part wears with each start.
Most homes here heat with electricity, so a power interruption stops the furnace outright. Albemarle County sees its share of winter storms and damaging wind, and in 2024, 22% of Virginia households lost power for 24 hours or more. When the power comes back, the furnace should start again on its own, but if it doesn't, that's a sign worth having checked.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 28°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 24 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 Board for Contractors tests the contractor and keeps a record of that license. It covers the company doing the work, not a separate check on each job that goes out. In Virginia, work under $1,000 does not need a licensed contractor, so a small furnace fix can fall under that line.
A furnace repair that costs more than that falls under the license. Gas is the part of this job that matters most, since a bad connection is what makes a repair dangerous rather than just faulty. Virginia's license covers the contractor doing that work.
Sources: Virginia General Assembly · Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to heat and the temperature is set above the room temperature, and check the batteries if it uses them. If the thermostat looks fine, check the furnace switch, the one that looks like a light switch near the unit, and make sure the breaker for it hasn't tripped. A furnace that still won't start after that likely has a bad igniter, a failed flame sensor, or a control board fault, and those need a contractor to diagnose.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often the furnace is running the blower but the burners haven't lit yet, so you feel cold air for a minute before it warms up. If the air stays cold, check your air filter first. A filter clogged enough can cause the furnace to shut its burners down while the blower keeps running. If the filter is clean and the air still isn't heating, the igniter or gas valve may have failed, and that's a repair for a licensed contractor.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit usually means the thermocouple has worn out. That's the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to keep gas flowing. When it fails, the valve shuts the gas off as a safety measure, even though the pilot lit fine to start. Wind or a draft from a vent nearby can also blow a pilot out on its own. If relighting it keeps failing, have a contractor replace the thermocouple rather than keep relighting it yourself.