Furnace Repair in Shakopee, MN
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Scott County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat, and nights near 10 below
Shakopee needs a working furnace from October through May. That is eight months of the year the burner has to light every time the thermostat calls for it, and on winter nights that average 10°F it calls for it often. Each start puts wear on the igniter, and a worn igniter is one of the most common reasons a furnace stops producing heat.
Scott County has logged 35 winter storms and 53 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Most gas furnaces need electricity to run the blower and controls, so when a storm knocks out power, the heat goes with it. Statewide, 13% of households were without power for 24 hours or more in 2024, and 81.2% of homes here heat with gas, which is a lot of furnaces waiting on the power to come back before they can run again.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 10°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 81%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 35 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $120 a year off heating for a typical Scott County home.
Estimates for a typical Scott County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Minnesota fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when one part has failed and the heat exchanger is sound.
Replacement makes sense when the heat exchanger is cracked or the furnace keeps needing parts.
Minnesota has no state license for HVAC contractors.
Minnesota keeps no state record of who repairs furnaces. There is no test behind the name on the truck and no license number to check, in Scott County or anywhere else in the state.
A furnace repair still involves a gas connection, and that is the part worth caring about. Minnesota has no licensing board to check that connection, and nothing in this state's rules names another form of oversight for the work. In Scott County, where 81.2% of homes heat with gas, that gap is the one to keep in mind before letting anyone touch the line.
Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the power switch, since those cause more no-heat calls than the furnace itself. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and above room temperature, and check the switch on or near the furnace that looks like a light switch. It's easy to bump. If those are fine, the furnace may be locked out from a failed ignition attempt, a tripped high limit switch, or a safety switch left open on the door panel. A gas furnace will not run with a door panel off or loose. If everything looks normal and it still won't start, a contractor will need to check the control board and the safety switches to find what's holding it back.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Air that never warms up usually means the burners aren't lighting even though the blower is running. The blower and the burners are separate systems, so one can work while the other fails. A dirty flame sensor is a common cause. It reads the flame to prove it's burning, and once it's coated with residue it can't sense the flame and the gas valve shuts off for safety. A closed gas valve or a pilot that won't stay lit does the same thing. If the air is warm but just not warm enough, that's a different problem, often airflow or a thermostat set wrong. Either way, a contractor can tell which it is quickly.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This almost always points to the thermocouple, the small probe that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to stay open. When it wears out or sits slightly out of the flame, the valve reads no flame and shuts the gas off, even though the pilot lit fine a second ago. A draft blowing across the pilot can cause the same thing, so check if the flame wavers or leans. Dirt or soot on the pilot opening will also choke the flame down until it goes out. A contractor can test the thermocouple's output and replace it if it's weak, which is a common part to wear out over years of use.