Portland / Gray
Gray is about 21 miles from the Census center point for Portland in a straight line and covers 43.294 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
Gray has 8,429 residents (give or take 20) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=060XX00US2300528870, checked 2026-10-19), about 195 people per square mile.
The quote form takes a ZIP code; for Gray that is 04039 (Census 2020 ZCTA to county subdivision and ZCTA to place relationship files, ZIP areas at least 20% inside the town, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_cousub20_natl.txt and https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/tab20_zcta520_place20_natl.txt, checked 2026-10-19).
Gray is spread out at 195 people per square mile across 43.294 square miles of land, so a long refrigerant line run between the outdoor unit and the farthest indoor head is the sizing question an installer checks first.
Of the 3,656 occupied homes in Gray, 1% heat with natural gas, 53% with heating oil, 10% with electricity and 25% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=060XX00US2300528870, checked 2026-10-19).
Gray has 7 points more oil heat than Cumberland County as a whole, where 46% of homes burn oil, and 5 points less electric heat than the county's 15% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US23005, checked 2026-10-19).
Heating oil is the largest single fuel in Gray at 53%, ahead of propane at 25%, so the usual job here is an oil boiler or furnace coming out and a cold-climate heat pump going in, with the oil tank removed.
The median Gray home was built in 1983 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=060XX00US2300528870, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 5.2 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=060XX00US2300528870, checked 2026-10-19).
Gray has 4,442 housing units, 12% built before 1940 and 46% before 1980, with 27% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=060XX00US2300528870, checked 2026-10-19).
Gray has 11 points fewer pre-1940 homes than Cumberland County as a whole (23%) and 5 points more homes built after 2000 than the county's 22% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US23005, checked 2026-10-19).
78% of Gray homes are single-family detached, 9% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 4% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=060XX00US2300528870, checked 2026-10-19).
With 78% detached houses and 9% in small multi-family buildings, a Gray quote is usually one or two outdoor units with ducted or ductless heads sized room by room. With 18% of Gray homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=060XX00US2300528870, checked 2026-10-19), the landlord signs the quote in many of them.
Gray has 15 points more detached houses than Cumberland County overall (63%) and 11 points fewer five-plus-unit buildings than the county's 15% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US23005, checked 2026-10-19).
No electric utility is on file for Gray on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
Efficiency Maine whole-home heat pump rebate, run by Efficiency Maine, is a live program for Maine addresses and lists a standard figure of $3,000 (registry row 7 verified 2026-10-15, https://www.efficiencymaine.com/whole-home-heat-pump-rebates/, checked 2026-10-16); confirm eligibility for the Gray address before counting it. With 10% of Gray homes already on electric heat and 79% on gas, oil or propane, the row that applies depends on the name on the electric bill and the fuel coming out.
Median household income in Gray is $95,236 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=060XX00US2300528870, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
Heating design temperature: -4F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Cumberland County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 54 to 55 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That -4F figure is the Cumberland County cold-day number a Gray heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at -4F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask what happens to the oil tank, since 53% of the 3,656 occupied Gray homes have one and removal is usually a separate line on the quote.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; the median Gray home has 5.2 rooms and was built around 1983, and the count of heads and the tonnage follow the rooms and the insulation, not the square footage.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Gray. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Gray yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.