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A heat pump here works both sides of its cycle: heating through the long winter, then switching over for summer. Homes in Spokane County, WA run heat about ten months a year, from September through June. The reversing valve, which toggles the system between those two modes, cycles far more often than it would on equipment that only heats or only cools, and the refrigerant circuit runs under load through nearly every season. When a contractor diagnoses a fault, the condition of those parts tells them more than the age of the unit does, because accumulated cycling leaves marks a visual inspection can find.
Half the homes in Spokane County, Washington were built in 1978 or earlier (2020-2024 ACS 5-year). A house that old has seen more than one heating system come and go inside it, and what a contractor finds when they open a heat pump here reflects that layered history. The refrigerant circuit, the reversing valve, the capacitors and contactors: these components wear on a schedule tied to the equipment's age, and in stock this old the equipment itself may be well into its service life. The question a repair job answers is whether the parts that unit takes are still manufactured, and whether what has worn is worth replacing at current prices.
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 condenser coil, which are the pieces a contractor goes to first when a heat pump stops keeping up. The compressor is the heart of the system, and a failed one is often what turns a repair call into a longer conversation. The condenser coil wraps around it, and damage or fouling there shows up fast in how the system performs.
Inside the house, the air handler contains the evaporator coil and the blower fan that moves conditioned air through your home. The reversing valve sits within the system and is what allows the heat pump to shift between heating and cooling. Refrigerant lines run between the two units, and a contractor checks them alongside the expansion valve when the indoor and outdoor sides are not working in step.
The drawing shows a typical heat pump layout, and a licensed contractor determines which parts apply to your specific setup.
Get matched in Spokane CountySpokane County, by the numbers
663 severe weather events were recorded in Spokane County, Washington 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 Spokane County, Washington were built in 1978 or earlier (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesSpokane County, Washington holds 231,205 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 Spokane County, Washington (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesCodes & Standards Governing Heat Pump Repair in Spokane County, Washington1 sourced rules and standards
Licensing and Legal Requirements in Spokane County, Washington
Washington requires contractor registration rather than an HVAC licence: every contractor must register with the Department of Labor and Industries, and advertising, bidding or working as a contractor without that registration is a gross misdemeanour.
Severe Weather Events in Spokane County
Extreme weather puts heat pumps under sustained stress, and how hard a system works over its lifetime shapes what repairs it will eventually need. That load profile is local, which is why the weather record for this area belongs on a page about heat pump repair.
663 severe weather events, 2015–2024. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database.