Curious about forced air heat in Portland (Scarborough, Falmouth: to rent, how much)

[imisscarlsbadcalifornia]

Greetings!
My husband and I have begun to mull retirement locations and I’ve always loved Maine. As we age, access to healthcare is important and I’ve read enough to know you have an excellent hospital there so that’s a big plus. As I’ve scanned Zillow and Realtor.com I have seen electric/baseboard heat in almost every home, even where gas stoves are present. We currently live in the DC metro and gas furnaces/AC forced air is the prevailing heating and cooling method here, so I am curious about the reasoning for the prevalence of electric heat there? I presume there is quite a good reason since it appears, at least from the property listings, for its predominance. If anyone asked me why forced air is so ubiquitous here I’d say it’s our hot and humid summers and early autumns that are the culprit but that would just be a guess.

Also, if anyone can suggest where we might find homes in the 3500-5000 square foot range (including a basement) and/or newer construction that would also be helpful.

Thank you for any assistance you can offer.

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by imisscarlsbadcalifornia

Greetings!
My husband and I have begun to mull retirement locations and I’ve always loved Maine. As we age, access to healthcare is important and I’ve read enough to know you have an excellent hospital there so that’s a big plus. As I’ve scanned Zillow and Realtor.com I have seen electric/baseboard heat in almost every home, even where gas stoves are present. We currently live in the DC metro and gas furnaces/AC forced air is the prevailing heating and cooling method here, so I am curious about the reasoning for the prevalence of electric heat there? I presume there is quite a good reason since it appears, at least from the property listings, for its predominance. If anyone asked me why forced air is so ubiquitous here I’d say it’s our hot and humid summers and early autumns that are the culprit but that would just be a guess.

Also, if anyone can suggest where we might find homes in the 3500-5000 square foot range (including a basement) and/or newer construction that would also be helpful.

Thank you for any assistance you can offer.

I wouldn't say that electric heat is the dominant heat source in Maine, most homes are heated with hot water through baseboards or radiators. Many homes built in the 70s and 80s had electric baseboard heat as it was the most economical to install as no boiler or tank is needed (although the most expensive to the end user) and many of those homes have been upgraded to another heating system. A forced air or water system can be powered by oil or gas (natural or bottled). Until recently, only homes with forced air furnaces could have central air conditioning, but with the growth in popularity of mini split heat pumps, anybody can have air conditioning. I asked somebody today at an open house about their mini splits and they paid $9000 for 3 units. Obviously that's a long payback period, but everybody that I've asked loves them.

As for 3000+ square foot homes, any REALTOR with access to MLS can set up a search for you.

[OutdoorLover]

Few Maine communities have natural gas service. Propane is widely available and provides clean, convenient fuel, but it's about twice the price of natural gas, so it's not very popular.

Oil*, wood logs and wood pellets are probably the most popular, and baseboard electric may be used as supplemental heat in conjunction with those, or as the only heat system in a seasonal cottage for spring/fall use.

Low temperature heat pump systems from Fujitsu and Mitsubishi are increasingly popular in new construction. They seem to work well when the house is tight and (extra) well insulated, and can provide cooling as well as heating.

See the fuel/system cost comparison at Efficiency Maine
https://www.efficiencymaine.com/at-h...st-comparison/

*Oil usually means an oil fired boiler and hot water heat run through baseboard or old-school radiators - that works fine. Steam systems still exist but aren't common.

[OutdoorLover]

If you're looking for a large home, near a fine hospital, one area to be sure to include would be communities around Portland, like Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth and Yarmouth. I think user WhoFanMe is actually a realtor in that area :-).

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

If you're looking for a large home, near a fine hospital, one area to be sure to include would be communities around Portland, like Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth and Yarmouth. I think user WhoFanMe is actually a realtor in that area :-).

Thanks OL. I was at Maine Med last week and it's stunning how much it has grown over the years with more expansion coming.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by WhoFanMe

Thanks OL. I was at Maine Med last week and it's stunning how much it has grown over the years with more expansion coming.

I am looking at retiring further north in Camden, as I like smaller towns myself. There is definitely adequate care for primary care and routine procedures right in the Camden area. But if down the road I need something like a hip replacement, cancer treatment, or heart surgery, I'd feel better about my odds of all going well at the Maine Medical Center.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

Few Maine communities have natural gas service. Propane is widely available and provides clean, convenient fuel, but it's about twice the price of natural gas, so it's not very popular.

Yup. Natural gas is really only available in some of the larger communities.

See: https://www.mainenaturalgas.com/wps/...s-on-my-street

[yaeger07]

Are you sure it's all electric baseboard? Baseboards don't have to be electric (as my mom who lives in Central NJ thought...)

[imisscarlsbadcalifornia]

Wow! So much great information here! Thank you to everyone for your thorough and generous replies. Yaeger07, I did presume that all of the baseboard heat I could see in listing photos was electric heat. Oil and boiler heating sources are completely new to me as I’ve had natural gas/forced air heating and cooling everywhere I’ve lived with one exception, and that was electric heat. It’s funny, I’m 55 and have lived in the northeast, mid Atlantic, the south, the Rockies, and on California’s coast and owned homes in all of those regions but haven’t had a very diverse experience with heating and cooling despite my vagabond residence history so thank you for the education. The home we have now has a conventional gas furnace and AC unit for the basement and first floor and a heat pump for the second floor. It is so helpful to learn that there is such a thing as a low temperature heat pump. It’s kind of an “a-ha” moment for me because I have long lamented that our heat pump neither cools the way I’d like during our heat waves nor heats the way the gas furnace does during our really cold snaps. Now I know why! Thank you again for that information!

WHOFANME and Outdoor Lover, you are wonderful ambassadors for Maine! Mark S, thank you for the natural gas map! That is super helpful! We are hoping to rent an RV and travel to the Portland area this fall. I stumbled across a place called The Holy Donut...looks like a cheat day in the making! Any and all suggestions for pizza, Indian food, and your favorite grocery stores are most welcome! Oh, and a great salad place too if you have one you love!

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by imisscarlsbadcalifornia

Wow! So much great information here! Thank you to everyone for your thorough and generous replies. Yaeger07, I did presume that all of the baseboard heat I could see in listing photos was electric heat. Oil and boiler heating sources are completely new to me as I’ve had natural gas/forced air heating and cooling everywhere I’ve lived with one exception, and that was electric heat. It’s funny, I’m 55 and have lived in the northeast, mid Atlantic, the south, the Rockies, and on California’s coast and owned homes in all of those regions but haven’t had a very diverse experience with heating and cooling despite my vagabond residence history so thank you for the education. The home we have now has a conventional gas furnace and AC unit for the basement and first floor and a heat pump for the second floor. It is so helpful to learn that there is such a thing as a low temperature heat pump. It’s kind of an “a-ha” moment for me because I have long lamented that our heat pump neither cools the way I’d like during our heat waves nor heats the way the gas furnace does during our really cold snaps. Now I know why! Thank you again for that information!

WHOFANME and Outdoor Lover, you are wonderful ambassadors for Maine! Mark S, thank you for the natural gas map! That is super helpful! We are hoping to rent an RV and travel to the Portland area this fall. I stumbled across a place called The Holy Donut...looks like a cheat day in the making! Any and all suggestions for pizza, Indian food, and your favorite grocery stores are most welcome! Oh, and a great salad place too if you have one you love!

The Holy Donut is amazing, my 12 year old and I go to their Scarborough location (Portland is too crowded) on a regular basis. My favorite pizza is Otto's, lots of locations in Greater Portland.