Furnace Installation in Portland, ME
A new furnace here will run from September through May every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Cumberland County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat in Cumberland County
Your furnace here works from September through May. Winter nights average 15°F, so on the coldest ones it runs most of the night to keep the house warm. Almost half the homes in this area heat with fuel oil, and a furnace built for that kind of run time needs to be sized and installed right from the start.
Maine sees its share of winter storms, and in 2024 more than half of households in the state lost power for at least a day. A new gas furnace installed today has to meet a federal minimum of 80 percent AFUE, so any unit going into your home starts from that baseline.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 15°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 80% AFUE
- the federal minimum any new unit must meet
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- What size furnace does my house need?
- The right size comes from a load calculation, not the square footage of your house alone. A contractor measures your walls, windows, insulation and ceiling height, then works out how much heat you lose on a cold night and sizes the furnace to match. Guessing high seems safe but it isn't. A furnace too big for the house cycles on and off fast, wears out sooner, and leaves rooms uneven. With winter nights here averaging 15°F, getting the size right matters more than in a milder climate, since the furnace runs hard nine months of the year.
- How do I know it's time to replace my furnace?
- Age is the first thing to check. Most furnaces last 15 years, and one nearing that range is worth having looked at even if it still runs. Watch for other signs too. Repairs getting more frequent, a yellow or flickering flame instead of steady blue, rooms that used to heat evenly now not doing so, or a rise in fuel use without any other explanation. Homes here need heat from September through May, so a furnace on its last years is carrying a heavy load most of the year. If a contractor tells you a repair costs a large share of what a new furnace would, that's usually the point to stop repairing.
- Is a high-efficiency furnace worth it?
- It depends on how long you plan to stay in the house and what furnace you have now. A high-efficiency furnace burns less fuel to produce the same heat than one rated at the 80 percent AFUE minimum required for furnaces built since November 2015, and that adds up over a 9-month heating season. Nearly half of homes here still heat with fuel oil, and for those homes the difference between an old furnace and a new high-efficiency one can be significant. A contractor can walk through your current furnace's efficiency against the options and price out what makes sense for your house.