Furnace Repair in Shelbyville, KY
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Shelby County will get in touch.
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Seven months of heat puts real wear on your furnace
Shelby County homes run the furnace from October through April. That's seven months of the burner cycling on and off, night after night, to keep up with winter lows that average 26°F. Every cycle puts a little more wear on the igniter and the parts that get it started.
Almost half the county heats with electricity, and Kentucky saw 24% of households lose power for at least a day in 2024. The county has also logged 11 winter storms and 50 damaging wind events over the past ten years. When the power drops in the middle of a cold snap, a furnace that was already struggling to light may not come back on its own.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 26°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 11 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Kentucky requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is issued by the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, and it belongs to the contractor, not to any single job. The state has tested this contractor and keeps a record of them, so the license you check is tied to the person or company doing the work, not to your furnace repair specifically.
For a furnace repair, that license is what stands behind the person working on your gas line and burner assembly. A bad connection there is the dangerous part of the job, and in Kentucky it's the state license that says someone has been tested on that kind of work before they're allowed to do it in your home.
Sources: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most of the time it comes down to the thermostat, the power supply, or the gas supply not reaching the furnace. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature. Check the breaker for the furnace and the switch that looks like a light switch near the unit, since that shuts the furnace off and gets bumped off by accident. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may be keeping it from starting, and that calls for a contractor to open it up and test it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it is not warm, the furnace is either not igniting or the blower is running without a heat call behind it. A dirty filter can choke off airflow enough that the air feels cool even when the furnace is heating, so check that first. If the filter is clean and the air stays cold, the igniter, the flame sensor, or the gas valve is likely not doing its job, and that is a repair for a contractor to diagnose rather than something to keep testing on your own.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit is almost always the thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the flame is burning. When it wears out or sits out of position, it reads no flame even when one is there and shuts the gas off. A draft blowing across the pilot can also put it out, so check that the area around the furnace is not exposed to a draft. If relighting it keeps failing, the thermocouple needs to be adjusted or replaced, and that is a job for a licensed contractor since it involves the gas line.