AUGUSTA – State Rep. Lance Harvell would like to remind residents of his House district – Farmington and Industry – about some tips on keeping warm this winter while minimizing the cost of heating homes, apartments and businesses.
“Cold winter weather is here and we’re all thinking about heating costs,” said Rep. Harvell (R-Farmington), a first-term legislator. “As oil prices continue to creep up, it’s important to plan ahead, save as much as possible and help our neighbors when we can.”
Rep. Harvell highlights 10 energy-saving tips, all from Keep ME Warm, a collaboration of several state agencies. Those are: close storm windows and use drapes and shades at night to conserve heat; close flue dampers in fireplaces; install faucet flow restrictors and low-flow shower heads; tune up heating systems; insulate, caulk and weather-strip your home.
The other five tips: Remove and vacuum your furnace filter every month; close off and reduce heat to unoccupied parts of the house; replace 60-watt incandescent bulbs with 13-watt CFLs; set your thermostat back; and last, insulate hot-water pipes and duct work.
“It’s important to make sure your home is as energy-efficient as possible, but we also should help our neighbors do the same,” said Rep. Harvell. “You might know folks who would have trouble doing the work of winterizing. We can all pitch in to help our communities get through the winter in good shape.”
He suggested that residents join or create a local response team to determine what residents need. Action teams, he noted, can take specific steps to help communities. They can designate warming centers, for example, and create local fuel funds to help families in need. They can list their volunteer resources and projects on www.volunteermaine.org, inform town leaders about their activities and run neighbor-to-neighbor check-ins during extremely cold weather.
Rep. Harvell recommended that residents call 2-1-1 Maine for more information on resources available for heating assistance, weatherization and energy audits. 2-1-1 Maine is a statewide information and referral line created by United Ways of Maine, in partnership with Youth Alternatives Ingraham and the State of Maine.
