Efficiency Maine rebate
$1,000–$3,000
Per eligible outdoor unit on qualifying whole-home heat pump systems, by household income. As a Registered Vendor we file the paperwork for you.
Heat Pump & Mini-Split Repair
in Portland, Maine
Portland & Southern MaineNo heat, ice on the outdoor unit, or an error code on the head. We diagnose it, price the repair in writing, and get the system running — or tell you when replacement is the better spend.
- Google reviews
- Licensed & Insured
- 30+ Years Experience
- Efficiency Maine Registered Vendor
- Free Estimates
Rebates if the unit is done
All rebates & financing →Financing
From 0% APR
Efficiency Maine Home Energy Loans up to $25,000 on new systems. Terms and fees on our financing page.
No obligation
Free estimates
Free in-home estimates on new systems, replacements and upgrades. You get the price in writing before any work begins.
How a Heat Pump Works
- Outdoor unit — fan and compressor extract heat from outside air, even in cold weather
- Reversing valve — switches the system between heating and cooling
- Line set — carries hot, high-pressure refrigerant indoors
- Indoor coil — releases heat into the airstream
- Warm air — the blower delivers it to the room
What we fix on heat pumps and mini-splits
Most repair calls in Portland and Gorham start the same way: the house is cold, the outdoor unit is iced, or a head is blinking a code. We work on Mitsubishi, Daikin, and Samsung systems every week, plus most other ductless and ducted heat pumps.
Common jobs include failed outdoor fans, clogged condensate drains, dirty coils that trip high pressure, sensors out of range, and boards stuck in defrost. We also recover refrigerant when a line is leaking and test both heat and cool before we leave.
If the unit is near the end of its life we will say so. Our replacement team can price a new system with Efficiency Maine rebates instead of stacking repairs. After a fix, annual cleaning keeps the same fault from coming back next season. Many of these calls sit next to a ductless mini-split we or another shop installed in Portland, Westbrook, or South Portland.
Not sure whether your system needs a technician yet? Our checklist of seven signs your heat pump needs professional attention explains what you can check yourself first and when to call.
Diagnosis first. Parts second.
We do not guess. Error codes, coil temperature, and refrigerant readings tell us whether you need a capacitor, a fan motor, a board, or a recovery and leak search.
You see the price before any part goes in. If a repair is a poor spend next to a rebate-eligible replacement, we say that too.
What does heat pump repair cost in Maine?
Typically $150–$600
Diagnostic visits and common repairs (fans, sensors, drain lines, capacitors) usually land in this range. Compressors, boards, and refrigerant work cost more. You get a written price before we start.
You get the price before any work begins. Call for a quote or send the form and we'll get back to you.
Homeowner Guide
Heat Pump & Mini-Split Error Codes by Brand, and What to Check First
Mitsubishi, Daikin, and Samsung each build their own fault-signaling logic into their equipment — a two-digit display code, a counted number of remote beeps, or a specific pattern in how the operation lamp blinks — and none of the three read the same way. Even within one brand, older and newer model lines can assign different meanings to the same digits, so the code your neighbor's system showed last winter isn't necessarily the same problem yours is having now.
The manual behind each table below is written for one specific model line, listed in its caption. Match your indoor unit's nameplate to that caption before you act on anything in the table — technicians see mismatched-model guesses often enough that it's the first question we ask on a call.
Check These Before You Call
- Confirm the breaker is on and hasn't tripped. After any power interruption, give the system a few minutes before expecting it to respond — many outdoor units hold off restarting briefly to protect the compressor.
- Check the remote: correct mode (use Heat, not Auto, in winter — Efficiency Maine notes Auto can flip a system to cooling on a sunny winter afternoon), fresh batteries seated the right way, and no sleep timer set to shut it off.
- Make sure nothing is blocking the indoor unit's air inlet or outlet, and that the outdoor unit has clear airflow on all sides — snow drifted against it is a common, easy-to-miss cause of poor performance.
- A pause in heating on a cold, damp day, sometimes with steam around the outdoor unit, is very likely a normal defrost cycle rather than a fault — see our mini-split guide for what that actually looks like.
Shut the system off and get a technician out if the indoor unit is dripping water, the operation lamp won't stop blinking, the breaker keeps tripping every time you reset it, or a code points at low refrigerant. Refrigerant doesn't always have a smell, so don't wait for one before treating a leak code as real.
Mitsubishi Electric M-Series (MSZ-GX Wall Units)
If the operation lamp is blinking, point the remote at the indoor unit and press CHECK with a pointed but non-metal object. The display will show "00"; step through the codes one at a time, and the unit signals a match with two beeps versus one beep for no match at that code.
| Code | What the manual says it means |
|---|---|
| E6, E7 | Serial signal error (indoor unit) |
| E8, E9, EC | Indoor/outdoor communication or receiving error |
| EE | Indoor and outdoor unit refrigerant types don't match |
| FL | Refrigerant leak abnormality at the indoor unit |
| P1 | Room temperature thermistor |
| P2, P9 | Indoor coil thermistor |
| P4 | Drain sensor |
| Pb | Indoor fan motor |
| U3 | Outdoor thermistor (discharge, defrost, or fin) |
| U4 | Outdoor thermistor (circuit board, ambient, or heat exchanger) |
| UP | Outdoor power system |
Daikin Aurora R-32 Wall Units
On these units, hold CANCEL on the remote for about five seconds while pointed at the indoor unit, then press it repeatedly to step through codes — a short beep means no match, a longer beep marks the stored code. For a handful of codes (E7 and L3 through L5), Daikin's manual allows the homeowner to shut off the breaker, clear any obstruction from the outdoor unit, and restart before calling for service; every other code on this list needs a technician.
| Code | What the manual says it means |
|---|---|
| UA | Indoor/outdoor unit combination error |
| U0 | Refrigerant shortage |
| U2 | Main circuit voltage drop or overvoltage |
| U4 | Transmission problem between indoor and outdoor units |
| A5 | High-pressure control or freeze protection |
| A6 | Fan motor error |
| E7 | DC fan motor error (outdoor fan stopped) |
| F3 | Discharge pipe high-temperature control |
| L3, L4, L5 | Outdoor unit overheated internally and shut down |
Samsung: Two Confirmed Consumer Indicators, and What to Do for the Rest
Samsung's residential ductless line publishes far fewer plain-language, homeowner-facing codes than Mitsubishi or Daikin. Two are confirmed in Samsung's own consumer support material: a "df" indicator on the display means the unit is running its defrost cycle — normal operation, and the remote won't accept other inputs until it finishes — and a "CF" indicator is simply a filter-cleaning reminder, not a malfunction.
Past those two, Samsung keeps its fault codes inside installer service manuals that are specific to a model and, often, to how the outdoor unit's rotary dial or wiring was set at install — there's no single homeowner-facing lookup table the way Mitsubishi and Daikin publish one. If your Samsung system throws a different code, jot down exactly what's displayed (count the blinks carefully if that's how it's showing) and pull the model and serial numbers off the indoor and outdoor nameplates before you dial the phone. That's what lets us go straight to the right manual instead of troubleshooting blind.
"df" and a heating pause together almost always just mean defrost — see the check-this-first list above before assuming something's wrong.
Sources: Mitsubishi Electric MSZ-GX06/09/12/15NL operating instructions (DG79A0JKH01) · Daikin FTX09/12/15WMVJU9 operation manual (3P686870-1) · Samsung HVAC — Dealer/Installer FAQ · Samsung — how to use the heating mode on your air conditioner · Samsung — how to clean air conditioner filters · Efficiency Maine — heat pump user tips
Brand names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners, shown only to identify the equipment discussed. Southern Maine Heat Pumps is an independent installer and is not affiliated with or endorsed by these manufacturers.
Efficiency Maine
Rebates & Guidance
- Recommendation
Worth pricing replacement before paying for another repair
Once a repair quote on an aging system starts approaching what a new cold-climate unit would run, ask us to put both numbers side by side — the whole-home or per-unit rebate on a fresh install tends to close that gap faster than most homeowners assume.
Source: Efficiency Maine
Program details as of Sep 26, 2026. Rebate amounts and eligibility change; confirm current terms at efficiencymaine.com.
What We Offer
Repair work on the brands we install — and on systems we did not put in.
Diagnosis of no-heat, no-cool, ice, and error codes
Mitsubishi, Daikin, Samsung, and most other brands
Indoor head, outdoor unit, and line-set repairs
Written price before any parts go in
Same-week appointments across Greater Portland
Honest repair-versus-replace recommendation
Our Repair Process
1
Call or send the form
Tell us the brand, the symptom, and the town. We book a same-week visit whenever we can.
2
On-site diagnosis
We inspect indoor and outdoor units, read error codes, and check refrigerant, boards, fans, and drains.
3
Written price
You get the repair price before we order parts or open the system. No surprise invoices.
4
Repair
We replace the failed part, recover refrigerant when required, and test heat and cool modes.
5
What next
If the unit is near end of life we show replacement options and Efficiency Maine rebates instead of stacking repairs.
Why Choose Southern Maine Heat Pumps
Family-owned in Gorham. Thirty-plus years on these systems. No invented fees on the invoice.
Restore heat before the next cold snap
Avoid a full replacement when a repair will do
Technicians who work on these systems every day
No upsell — we tell you when a part is not worth it
Service on systems we did not install
Path to rebate-eligible replacement if the unit is done
Heat Pump Repair FAQs
Answers to the questions Southern Maine homeowners ask us most.
Why did my heat pump stop heating in cold weather?
Iced coils, a dirty filter, a failed outdoor fan, low refrigerant, or a board in defrost lock can all cut heat on a Maine night. We read the error code, check charge, and test both modes so you know whether it is a clean-and-reset or a part.
Do you repair Mitsubishi, Daikin, and Samsung mini-splits?
Yes. Those are the brands we install every week, and we also service most other ductless and ducted heat pumps — including systems another company put in. Bring the model number if you have it; we can usually diagnose without it.
How fast can you get to a repair in Portland?
We book same-week visits for Portland, South Portland, Westbrook, Gorham, and the rest of Cumberland County whenever the schedule allows. Call (207) 317-1077 with the symptom and town and we will give you the next open window.
What does heat pump repair typically cost in Maine?
Typical service calls and common repairs land between $150 and $600. Compressors, control boards, and refrigerant work cost more. You get a written price before we order parts or open the system.
Should I repair this heat pump or replace it?
If the unit is under ten years old and one part failed, a repair is usually the right call. If it needs frequent visits, uses a phased-out refrigerant, or cannot keep up below zero, we will show replacement options and Efficiency Maine rebates instead of stacking bills.
Can you repair a system you did not install?
Yes. A large share of our service calls are on equipment another contractor installed. We inspect it, tell you what failed, and service it if the repair is sound.
Google reviews
What Our Customers Say
Here's what homeowners across Southern Maine say about the work.
“The technician arrived right on time, diagnosed the issue quickly, and had both of my heat pumps running smoothly in no time. They explained everything clearly and didn’t try to upsell unnecessary services — just honest, quality work. The price was fair, and the customer service was exceptional.”
Sarah McKay
November 2025
“I was being serviced by another local company as I had a crack in my Daikin Drip Pan. The previous company came out 3 times and finally diagnosed it. They ordered the part and then never showed up again even though the part was under warranty. I found Southern Maine on a google search and gave them a call. Sam called my back immediately.”
Big Pappa
August 2025
“I could not recommend this company enough. Their pricing, installation, service, and maintenance are top notch. They are quick to respond to calls and e-mails and service calls/maintenance happen quickly as well.”
Josh Vaughn
August 2025
“Nate did a nice, professional job cleaning and servicing our heat pump. We recommend and will use them again.”
Justin Spear
August 2026
“I had neglected annual service out of fear that it would cost a fortune but when I called to make the appointment, they let me know what was included in service and the cost- amazing! I appreciated that they were willing to service the system even though they did not do the installation.”
Ben Winkler
April 2026
“I contacted Southern Maine Heat Pumps to service my two units. The technicians who came out to service our heat pumps did an outstanding job. They were very thorough and helpful. They did a way better job than what I have experienced before with other maintenance services.”
Matt Heer
March 2026
Explore Our Other Services
Need it running again?
Tell us the brand, the code if you have one, and the town. We will get back to you with the next open service window.
Need it today?Call (207) 317-1077
Need it today?Call (207) 317-1077