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A heat pump asked to cover a full heating season puts its hardest miles on the compressor and the reversing valve, not the refrigerant lines or the air handler cabinet. Homes in Florence County, SC run heat about five months a year, from November through March. Cold air thins the heat available outside, which forces the compressor to work longer each cycle to deliver the same warmth indoors. A contractor diagnosing a failed heat pump here checks compressor amp draw and reversing valve response first, because those are the parts that carried the season's load. Refrigerant charge gets verified too, since low charge makes every winter cycle harder than it needs to be.
Ductwork sized and sealed for earlier equipment shapes what a repair contractor finds when they open a heat pump in this county. Half the homes in Florence County, South Carolina were built in 1986 or earlier (2020-2024 ACS 5-year). A system running through ducts of that era may have spent years compensating for air leaks and static pressure that the original install never corrected, and that history shows up inside the unit as accelerated wear on the compressor and the reversing valve. Whether the parts a specific system takes are still in production is the question that decides whether a repair closes in a day or stretches into a sourcing problem.
The Parts of a Heat Pump a Contractor Checks First
The outdoor unit sits on a pad beside the house and holds the compressor and the outdoor coil. When a heat pump stops moving conditioned air or runs but produces no change in temperature, these are the pieces a contractor looks at first. A failed compressor or a fouled coil are common starting points.
Inside the house, the air handler contains the indoor coil and the blower. The expansion valve sits between the two coils and controls refrigerant flow. The refrigerant lines that connect the indoor and outdoor units, along with the reversing valve inside the outdoor cabinet, round out what a contractor will inspect when diagnosing a heat pump problem.
The drawing shows a typical layout, and a licensed contractor determines what applies to your specific system and home.
Get matched in Florence CountyFlorence County, by the numbers
120 severe weather events were recorded in Florence County, South Carolina between 2015 and 2024.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, bulk CSV export, events 2015-01-01 through 2024-12-31.Half the homes in Florence County, South Carolina were built in 1986 or earlier (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesFlorence County, South Carolina holds 62,090 housing units (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesOwners occupy 64.5% of the occupied homes in Florence County, South Carolina (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesRules & Standards Behind Heat Pump Repair in Florence County, South Carolina1 sourced rules and standards
Licensing and Legal Requirements in Florence County, South Carolina
South Carolina requires a mechanical contractor license for contracting work whose total cost of construction is greater than ten thousand dollars.
Severe Weather Events in Florence County
Florence County's climate puts steady pressure on heat pumps year-round, and that pressure spikes when storms move through. Equipment that works hard through weather stress is equipment that develops faults, which is why local weather history is a real factor in repair demand here.
120 severe weather events, 2015–2024. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database.