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On a heat pump, the refrigerant circuit runs in heating mode far longer than it runs in cooling mode here, which means the reversing valve, the coil, and the compressor bearings log the bulk of their wear before the calendar reaches summer. Homes in Huerfano County, CO run heat about nine months a year, from September through May. Cold air pulls capacity out of the outdoor coil, and a unit that is sized or charged even slightly off will cycle harder through those months to hold temperature, accelerating wear on the compressor. A contractor diagnosing a failed heat pump in this county checks the reversing valve and refrigerant charge first, because those are the components the heating season strains most.
A house that has cycled through more than one heating system accumulates the decisions each installer made: a junction here, a workaround there, wiring sized for whatever ran before. Half the homes in Huerfano County, Colorado were built in 1975 or earlier (2020-2024 ACS 5-year). When a contractor opens a heat pump in stock like this, what they find inside the unit is only part of the answer. The connections feeding it, and the condition of the lines running to it, often carry the history of every system that came before, and that history is where failed components tend to trace back to.
The Parts of a Heat Pump a Contractor Checks First
The outdoor unit sits outside the house and holds the compressor and the condenser coil. The compressor is the part contractors reach for first when a heat pump stops moving heat properly. The coil next to it is what a contractor inspects when the system is running but not keeping up.
The air handler lives inside, usually in a closet, attic, or utility room, and it holds the indoor coil and the blower that pushes conditioned air through the house. The reversing valve, which sits inside the outdoor unit, is what lets the system shift between heating and cooling, and a failed one is a common reason a heat pump will only work in one mode. The expansion valve and the refrigerant lines that run between the two units are also things a contractor traces when the pressures are off.
The drawing shows the general layout of a heat pump system, and a licensed contractor determines which components apply and what work is needed in your specific home.
Get matched in Huerfano CountyHuerfano County, by the record
704 severe weather events were recorded in Huerfano County, Colorado 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 Huerfano County, Colorado were built in 1975 or earlier (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesHuerfano County, Colorado holds 4,783 housing units (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesOwners occupy 75.1% of the occupied homes in Huerfano County, Colorado (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesSevere Weather Events in Huerfano County
Extreme weather puts heat pumps under load at the exact moments they are needed most. How hard that pressure runs in Huerfano County shapes what local repair work looks like and how often it comes up.
704 severe weather events, 2015–2024. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database.