DEXTER, Maine — Winter weather is knocking at the door, which means higher heating bills are on their way. One nonprofit is helping families insulate their homes to save on energy bills.
The latest numbers from the Governor's Energy Office show the average cost of heating oil in Maine is $5.43, which is about $2 per gallon higher than this time last year.
WindowDressers builds window inserts to help insulate homes and help save families money on their heating bills.
"If you had ten inserts done in your home this year, you would probably save 50 gallons of oil," Lesley Fernow, one of Maine's local WindowDressers coordinators.
Roughly 600 families in Maine are getting approximately 3,500 inserts. Of those families, WindowDressers gives about 30 percent of inserts free to low-income families, according to Fernow.
"Even with the oil and electricity being so expensive, I can't even imagine what it would've been without my inserts," Stephanie Hewitt, customer and volunteer, said.
Hewitt said the convenience of using the inserts has helped keep her Victorian home warm for the past three years, beating her old method for trying to insulate her home.
"I was doing the plastic in the windows," Hewitt said. "It was a lot of work."
WindowDressers is a volunteer-run organization that holds community builds where volunteers help make the inserts.
The organization is based in Maine but extends its services to New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont.
Anyone interested in learning more about the process, how to sign up, or volunteer, can click here.