State facts
Maine: homes, climate zones and who licenses the work
Maine has 752,000 housing units. 54.4% were built before 1980, and the median year built is 1977. 74.3% of occupied homes are lived in by their owners.
How old the homes are
Maine housing units, by year built
Layers drawn to scale
Age changes what applies to a house. In general, anyone paid to do work that disturbs painted surfaces in a home built before 1978 must be certified in lead-safe work practices under the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, which the EPA administers directly in Maine.
How homes are heated
How homes in Maine are heated
Main heating fuel, share of about 597,000 occupied homes
- Fuel oil or kerosene 55.3%
- Propane or other tank gas 13.8%
- Electricity 11.2%
- Wood 8.8%
- Utility gas 8.3%
- Other fuel 1.7%
- No fuel used 0.4%
- Solar energy 0.4%
- Coal or coke 0.1%
Climate and building zones
The 2021 International Energy Conservation Code assigns every county a climate zone from 1 to 8 and a moisture regime: A for moist, B for dry, C for marine. Zones 7 and 8 have no letter. Here is how Maine's residents divide among them, by the county they live in.
| IECC 2021 zone | Share of residents | Counties |
|---|---|---|
| 6A | 95.1% | 15 |
| 7 | 4.9% | 1 |
ENERGY STAR rates windows, doors and skylights for four climate zones of its own. All of Maine falls in the Northern zone.
By NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals, counties here average 156 days a year with a low of 32°F or colder, weighted by where people live. The range runs from 124 days in the mildest county to 200 in the coldest.
- SEER2 Requirements by State: What a New AC Must Meet
- What Size AC Do I Need? How a Load Calculation Answers It
- Do Heat Pumps Work in Cold Weather? What to Check Before Buying
- No Heat in Winter: How to Stay Safe Until the Furnace Is Fixed
- Ice Dams: Why They Leak Into Ceilings and How to Stop Them
- Crawl Space Moisture: Vented vs. Sealed Crawl Spaces
- Condensation on the Inside of Windows: Causes and Fixes
Flood risk and flood insurance
1.2% of residential structures in Maine carry a National Flood Insurance Program policy: 6,651 policies, in FEMA's count as of August 3, 2026.
In FEMA's National Risk Index, 1 of 16 counties rates high or very high for coastal flooding.
Fire ants and termites
No county in Maine is inside the federal imported fire ant quarantine.
Who licenses the work in Maine
Before anyone starts work, check the license with the agency below. Where the state does not license a trade, cities and counties may; ask the one where the house is.
- Pest control Anyone using pesticides as a paid service needs a commercial applicator license; each company needs a licensed master applicator, technicians hold operator licenses, and structural work falls under categories such as 7A Structural General Pest Control and 7F Termite Pests. Agency: Maine Board of Pesticides Control, Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. Look up a license. Who to call about pest control.
- Heating and cooling The state has no general HVAC contractor license; technicians who work on oil, solid fuel, propane and natural gas heating equipment are licensed by the Maine Fuel Board, and no specific heat pump license is required. Agency: Maine Fuel Board, Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Look up a license. Who to call about heating and cooling.
- Window replacement and other home improvement No statewide license. The state does not license or regulate home contractors, including general contractors, roofers and framers; plumbers and electricians are licensed separately. Who to call about window replacement.
- Mold remediation We found no statewide license for this work in official sources. Cities and counties may license it; ask the one where the house is. Who to call about water damage and mold.
Checked 2026-09-29. Licensing rules change; the agency's own page is the authority.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, tables B25034, B25035, B25040 and B25003 data.census.gov
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Guide to Determining Climate Zone by County: Building America and IECC 2021 Updates basc.pnnl.gov
- U.S. Department of Energy Prototype Building Models (climate zones 1–8 and moisture regimes A, B, C) energycodes.gov
- ENERGY STAR Climate zones by county for windows, doors and skylights energystar.gov
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, annual and seasonal ncei.noaa.gov
- Federal Emergency Management Agency OpenFEMA NFIP Residential Penetration Rates (as of 2026-08-03) fema.gov
- Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index, county ratings fema.gov
- USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Imported fire ant quarantine map aphis.usda.gov
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations 7 CFR part 301, subpart P, Imported Fire Ant ecfr.gov
- Maine Board of Pesticides Control, Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry maine.gov maine.gov
- Maine Fuel Board, Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation maine.gov maine.gov
- Maine Fuel Board, Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation maine.gov maine.gov
- maine.gov maine.gov maine.gov
- maine.gov maine.gov maine.gov
- epa.gov epa.gov epa.gov