Heat Pump Maintenance in Falmouth, Maine

Falmouth Homes and What They Need

Falmouth's housing is younger than most of Greater Portland. Census estimates put the median home here at 1986, and roughly 14 percent of homes have been built since 2010, many of them in newer subdivisions. The older layer is still real: about 14 percent of homes predate 1940 and about four in ten predate 1980, from Falmouth Foreside along Route 88 to West Falmouth Corner and Highland Lake. Around 80 percent of homes are single-family detached houses, and most are owner-occupied. In practice that means two very different kinds of job in one town: a newer colonial with PEX, a mechanical room and room for ductwork, and a Foreside house with copper or galvanized supply lines, tired shutoff valves and pinhole leaks that need tracing behind finished walls.

Heating and Cooling in Falmouth

Falmouth heats with a wider mix than most Maine towns. Census estimates show fuel oil or kerosene in roughly 43 percent of occupied homes, bottled propane in about 21 percent, utility natural gas in about 19 percent, electricity in about 11 percent and wood in about 5 percent. Gas is available because both Unitil and Summit Natural Gas of Maine run mains in town; Summit built into Falmouth, Cumberland and Yarmouth after the three towns chose it through a joint request for proposals, beginning in 2013. Homes near the bay see slightly milder nights than those out toward West Falmouth and Blackstrap, but both need equipment sized for a real Maine January. For many owners the choice is whether to keep an oil or propane boiler as backup or move most of the load to a cold-climate heat pump system, which also adds cooling.

Getting to Know Falmouth