KENNEBUNK—
The New School devotes two days in November to community service called Giving Back Days. This November, the days are the 23rd and 24th. Teachers, students and volunteers will work in the Kennebunk area winterizing the homes of older or disabled people, or low- income families.
Students and teachers worked with United Way several years ago with the Keep ME Warm program, which distributed and installed winterization kits to low income families in York County. The kits contained shrink-wrap for sealing the older style, single- paned windows, weather stripping for doors and windows and insulation for electrical outlets. Thus many of the students and teachers have been trained in weatherization. There will be five New School teams made up of a skilled volunteer leader, and five students.
For those who live in older homes and can’t afford to purchase new, insulated windows winterizing the house is the way to save energy this winter. An Indoor Window Insulator Kit costs about $16, will insulate five 3 x 5 windows and can increase the R-value of a single pane of glass by 90 percent. Felt or foam weather stripping is inexpensive and saves a lot of energy when applied to cracks or crevices between doors and doorjambs – a 1/8” space between an exterior door and its threshold is equivalent to a two square inch hole in the wall so imagine the amount of heat that escapes. Another inexpensive and easy way to reduce heating costs is to insulate the electrical outlets on your exterior walls. While most people don’t consider this to be a major source of energy loss, keep in mind that behind every faceplate that covers a light switch or electrical outlet is a hole in your wall. Adding a foam insulating gasket allows you to create a tight seal between the wall and the faceplate without altering the appearance of the socket.
The New School expects to be able to winterize between 15 and 20 homes during the two days. With donations from the Town of Kennebunk, the Southern Maine Church of Christ, Lowes and Home Depot, there are some kits available at no cost for those who can’t afford them. If anyone would like to volunteer to help with the project or donate materials you can contact The New School. Regardless of whether you can afford to buy the materials, the teams are willing to do the labor and can provide some materials. If you’d like help winterizing your home on November 23rd or 24th please call 985-3745.
The New School devotes two days in November to community service called Giving Back Days. This November, the days are the 23rd and 24th. Teachers, students and volunteers will work in the Kennebunk area winterizing the homes of older or disabled people, or low- income families.
Students and teachers worked with United Way several years ago with the Keep ME Warm program, which distributed and installed winterization kits to low income families in York County. The kits contained shrink-wrap for sealing the older style, single- paned windows, weather stripping for doors and windows and insulation for electrical outlets. Thus many of the students and teachers have been trained in weatherization. There will be five New School teams made up of a skilled volunteer leader, and five students.
For those who live in older homes and can’t afford to purchase new, insulated windows winterizing the house is the way to save energy this winter. An Indoor Window Insulator Kit costs about $16, will insulate five 3 x 5 windows and can increase the R-value of a single pane of glass by 90 percent. Felt or foam weather stripping is inexpensive and saves a lot of energy when applied to cracks or crevices between doors and doorjambs – a 1/8” space between an exterior door and its threshold is equivalent to a two square inch hole in the wall so imagine the amount of heat that escapes. Another inexpensive and easy way to reduce heating costs is to insulate the electrical outlets on your exterior walls. While most people don’t consider this to be a major source of energy loss, keep in mind that behind every faceplate that covers a light switch or electrical outlet is a hole in your wall. Adding a foam insulating gasket allows you to create a tight seal between the wall and the faceplate without altering the appearance of the socket.
The New School expects to be able to winterize between 15 and 20 homes during the two days. With donations from the Town of Kennebunk, the Southern Maine Church of Christ, Lowes and Home Depot, there are some kits available at no cost for those who can’t afford them. If anyone would like to volunteer to help with the project or donate materials you can contact The New School. Regardless of whether you can afford to buy the materials, the teams are willing to do the labor and can provide some materials. If you’d like help winterizing your home on November 23rd or 24th please call 985-3745.
