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A heat pump in this county does not sit out storms as exceptions. 111 severe weather events were recorded in New Hanover County, North Carolina between 2015 and 2024. At that rate, cumulative load on the refrigerant circuit, the reversing valve, and the outdoor coil is a factor a contractor weighs when a system comes in for repair. Whether a part gave out because of sustained weather stress or because it was never serviced correctly produces a different diagnosis and a different bill, and a contractor here has to work that out before any quote is real.
Stock built before the early nineties has had time to cycle through more than one generation of equipment, which means the heat pump a contractor opens today was put in well after the house was finished and has its own separate service record. Half the homes in New Hanover County, North Carolina were built in 1993 or earlier (2020-2024 ACS 5-year). That gap matters for repair work because the governing question is what the opened system turns out to contain and whether the parts it takes are still manufactured, not what the original builder left in the walls. Refrigerant circuits, compressors, and control boards all have their own timelines, and a contractor working through a diagnosis here is chasing that equipment history, component by component.
The Parts of a Heat Pump a Contractor Checks First
The outdoor unit holds the compressor and the condenser coil. It sits outside the house, usually on a pad beside the foundation, and it is where most repairs begin. A failed compressor, a leaking coil, or a burned contactor will all show up here first, and a contractor will open this cabinet before moving anywhere else.
Inside the house, the air handler contains the evaporator coil and the blower fan, mounted in a closet, attic, or utility room. The reversing valve, which tells the system whether to heat or cool, sits in the outdoor unit and is a common point of failure when a heat pump runs but delivers the wrong temperature. The refrigerant lines that connect both units run between them through the wall.
The drawing shows the general layout of a heat pump system, and a licensed contractor determines which parts apply and what work is needed in your specific home.
Find a contractor in New Hanover CountyNew Hanover County, by the numbers
111 severe weather events were recorded in New Hanover County, North 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 New Hanover County, North Carolina were built in 1993 or earlier (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesNew Hanover County, North Carolina holds 120,050 housing units (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesOwners occupy 61.4% of the occupied homes in New Hanover County, North Carolina (2020-2024 ACS 5-year).
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesCodes & Standards Behind Heat Pump Repair in New Hanover County, North Carolina2 sourced rules & standards
Licensing Rules for HVAC Repair in New Hanover County, North Carolina
North Carolina issues Class I heating licenses covering all systems in all structures, and Class II licenses covering heating systems in single-family detached residential dwellings.
North Carolina requires a license before any person or firm may engage in, or offer to engage in, the business of heating contracting.
Severe Weather Events in New Hanover County
Weather puts real stress on heat pump systems, and that stress accumulates over time. How hard the local climate pushes a unit shapes how often it needs repair and what fails first.
111 severe weather events, 2015–2024. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database.