Help With Energy Bills
By Teresa Ambord
If higher energy prices for home heating are troubling you, you may want to check into benefit programs. Government programs exist that are designed to help certain individuals pay their heating bills. Yet of those who qualify, only about 40 percent enroll. Meanwhile, several hundred senior citizens die each year from hypothermia. It just doesn’t make sense.
You can easily find out if you qualify by logging onto: BenefitsCheckUp. This web site is run by The National Council on the Aging and has a free and confidential service called BenefitsCheckUP.
You can also call the National Energy Assistance Referral at 1-866-674-6327 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. or e-mail energyassistance@ncat.org. The Campaign for Home Energy Assistance is another good resource. Click here to visit the Web site: LIHEAP.
Here is the information you’ll need in order to complete the application:
- Address
- Your date of birth and your spouse’s
- Veteran status for you and your spouse
- Type of residence (house, mobile home, apartment)
- Length of time in this residence
- Employment history for you and your spouse (the important point here is whether or not you’ve worked for the railroads or the government at any level)
- Current income and assets from all sources for you and your spouse and anyone else living in the home
- Estimated expenses
- List of prescription medicines you are taking.
Meanwhile, whether you qualify or not, here are a few tips to help keep your house warmer this winter:
- Dust can sabotage a heating system’s efficiency. So vacuum radiators, air vents, base board heaters on a regular basis.
- Call your utility company and find out if they perform tune-ups on heat pump, furnace, or boiler. If not, you might call a professional service for annual tune-ups.
- Ensure that furniture, carpet, and curtains do not restrict the airflow of the heating system.
- If baseboard heaters have movable vents or deflectors, make sure they are open for winter months.
- If you suspect you have leaky ducts, they need to be sealed and insulated. You may want to hire a professional to do this. Properly sealed and insulated ducts can save 10 to 15 percent on your home heating bills.
- Prune shrubs that block the airflow to your heat pump (and air conditioner in the summer).
- Install ceiling fans. The air circulation boosts the efficiency of your heating system in the winter and spreads cool air in the summer. If your ceiling fan does not have a reverse switch, use it on the lowest speed in winter to push the warm air off the ceiling and back down into your living space. If it does have a reverse switch, in winter, the air should blow upward, which is usually accomplished if the blades are moving clockwise. If you don’t have a ceiling fan, use a box fan. Place it on the highest shelf in your house and tilt it towards the ceiling. After all, there’s no use paying for heat that is going to sit over your head.
- Don’t close the heat registers in unused rooms. It may seem sensible to close them, but heating professionals will tell you that many systems can’t take the added pressure. If you close them, you reduce airflow and risk overheating the furnace and blowing holes in your ducts. A better idea is to adjust the dampers to control airflow through those registers. Or talk to a heating and air conditioning professional for an opinion.
