BANGOR, Maine — With colder weather setting in, it's that time of year when people's monthly heating bills tend to spike.
Jessica Williams, who is the executive director of Window Dressers non-profit organization, said according to the department of energy—about 30 percent of energy loss in homes occurs through windows and doors.
"When it’s really cold out it’s no fun to be in a cold house", Williams said.
When heating costs go up in the winter, people often find it harder to cover those increases, and without proper insulation, heat in the home seeps out, Williams added.
Window Dressers nonprofit hosts community build workshops all throughout Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, where they make window insulation insert frames that help prevent heat loss.
To find community build workshops in Maine, click here.
Williams said the insulation insert frames offer a low-cost effective way for customers to weatherize their homes, without spending large lumpsums of money to replace drafty windows.
According to Williams, about 100 people volunteer with the nonprofit for each community build event.
"It’s really a group effort so that we can get as many inserts in as many homes as possible and help people stay warm and save money on their heating bill," She said.
Williams said the insulation inserts not only help people weatherize their windows, but the inserts also help customers save money on their heating costs. She says when the insulation frame is inserted on an average 30 x 50 window, customers can save about eight and a half gallons of heating fuel per year.
The average cost for one gallon of heating fuel sits at about $4. Williams said, essentially, if someone has 10 windows in their home, and they buy an insert for each window, they can save 85 gallons of heating fuel per year.
"You can really see the difference when you put them in your windows," Belfast build coordinator Linda Meadows said. "You don’t feel a draft anymore."
Meadows works with the nonprofit as a volunteer, but she organizes all of the community build workshops in Belfast.
She said to make the inserts, volunteers assemble wooden frames and then wrap both sides with polyolefin, plastic film. The wrapped frame is then heated to seal the deal.
"It’s shrunk—it makes it nice and clear, and it traps air inside which is an insulator," Meadows said. "So that’s one of the big benefits of this insert is that it has extra air insulation."
Meadows said the community build classes fill up fast—and sometimes customers who order frames participate in the workshops themselves.
Williams said the organization gives 30 to 35 percent of the inserts they make away for free to people who can’t afford them.
"If we can help people be more comfortable and not have to make the choice between paying their heating bill, or putting food on the table or anything else, that makes me feel good," Williams said.
If you're interested in ordering an insulation insert frame, click here.
More tips to save money on heating costs
Sales and Marketing Manager at Bangor Natural Gas Andrew Barrowman said you can save 10 percent on energy by setting your thermostats at 68 degrees when you are at home and setting the temperature at 60 degrees when you're away.
Barrowman also said you can try some do it yourself (DIY) projects to properly insulate your homes.
Williams said the insulation insert frames volunteers make at the community build workshops are easy to assemble.
You can also caulk or weather strip doors and windows in your home, Barrowman said.
An alternative he added, is to hire someone to complete bigger projects like insulating your attic, wall cavities, rim joists, basement walls and crawlspaces—but those suggestions can be costly.
Lastly, Barrowman said you can try using fiberglass or foam spray insulation with an R-value of 3 to four inches. He said these suggestions can potentially save customers 15 to 20 percent on energy per year.