WOOSTER — With temperatures expected to drop below freezing this week, local heating experts recommend protecting homes and keeping utility bills low by installing insulation.
Craig Abbot of Riggle Brothers in Wooster said the absolute No. 1 thing someone can do to save money and keep their home warm during the winter months is insulate the house. He said during the winter, furnaces work overtime, sometimes running constantly to keep up with the demand for warm air.
“If you install the best heater in the world, if your house is not insulated, you are not accomplishing anything,” Abbot said.
He said the target spots for adding insulation are a building’s attic, walls and exterior doors. Simple weather stripping around doors, he said, can save on heating. Abbot said with a good furnace and proper insulation, a heating bill can be reduced by one third.
He said there are many parts of a home that can be insulated.
Abbot said insulation should be added where pipes come into a home. He explained hot water pipes that run throughout a home should be insulated as it will help ease the workload of the water heater.
Tignor’s Hometown Hardware owner Lorrie Tignor said they have supplies to insulate a home.
She said one item very important for insulation is plastic shrink wrap that goes over windows. Tignor said the wrap can keep a home warm and a bill low. The most basic window shrink wrap insulation starts at $4.29 and the options go up from there.
She said people can get the insulation for any number of windows, for any number of sizes as well as french doors.
Tignor’s also sells other types of insulation. She said the store has insulation to go around water pipes as well as insulation for outdoor faucets. The store sells ceiling fans, which, she said, help distribute warmth.
Additionally, she said, insulate heaters are beneficial for the winter months.
Tignor said insulate heaters heat objects rather than air. They can heat floors, walls and other objects. The heaters, she said, are more useful as an addition to regular heaters than they are used as a heater by themselves.
“We’ve been selling them pretty good,” she said. “People are trying to be proactive.”
Riggle Brothers also is selling products pretty well. Abbot said the company just finished fall furnace checks. He said it’s important to check the furnace motor, ventilation and heat exchanger.
He recommends everyone have a carbon monoxide sensor in their homes. He said it is particularly important in the winter when furnaces are running frequently.
Tignor said insulation is important, but is not her favorite way to heat a home. She jokingly said baking cookies and using the oven is a great way to keep the house warm.
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