Heat Pump Maintenance in Portland, Maine

Portland Homes and What They Need

Census estimates for 2020 to 2024 put the median Portland home at 1946, and about 46 percent of the city's housing units were built before 1940. Only about a third of homes are single detached houses; roughly a third of units sit in buildings with five or more apartments, and a little over half of households rent. That mix covers peninsula walk-ups on Munjoy Hill and in the West End, larger single-family streets off the peninsula, a thin layer of postwar ranches and capes, and newer condominium buildings. In buildings this old it is common to find cast-iron or galvanized piping, hot-water or steam radiators, and original circuits that were never sized for modern kitchens or heat pumps. Work on rewiring an older Portland building usually starts with finding out what is behind the plaster.

Heating and Cooling in Portland

Portland is the most gas-connected of the towns around it. Census estimates show roughly 39 percent of occupied homes heat mainly with utility gas from Unitil's Northern Utilities system, about 31 percent with fuel oil or kerosene, about 22 percent with electricity and around 6 percent with bottled propane; wood is under 1 percent. That electric share is high for Maine and likely reflects both apartments with baseboard heat and a steady move to heat pumps. Weather at the Portland International Jetport averages a January low in the mid-teens, with about ten nights a year at or below zero,, and the city's waterfront setting spares it some of the deepest cold felt farther inland. For older homes on gas or oil radiators, a common path is keeping the boiler and radiator system as backup while ductless heads carry most of the season.

Getting to Know Portland