Holiday Cheer, Heat Smart Style

• December 6, 2018
• Heat Smart

It’s impossible to avoid this time of year. Decorations in every store, carols on every radio station, lights in nearly every window. So in this season of “comfort and joy” as the song goes, we’d like to draw your attention to some additional benefits of the Heat Smart Kit, such as comfort.

If you’re a regular reader, you know Heat Smart best for the energy savings we help low income families achieve. However, the high quality wool-blend blankets in our kit are also cozy and keep people warmer than cheaper synthetics or cotton. Wool is a natural and unique material that raises body temperature faster than any other material. It insulates in cold weather and breathes in hot weather. And the weatherstripping in the kit eliminates cold drafts around windows and doors. The result: increased comfort and sense of well-being.

Here’s what some Heat Smart Kit recipients have told us:

“The blankets were soft and cozy, I like to cuddle under them.”

“The weatherstripping was really helpful, I used to have drafts all around my front door.”

“The blankets were very nice, they cuddle you up and keep you warm. I never had anything like them; before, I had thin cotton blankets.”

This warmth and added sense of comfort is what the industry calls a non-energy benefit. And research has shown that while difficult to quantify, non-energy  benefits are very important to many households, sometimes more important than the energy saving benefits. And that could help increase efficiency program adoption rates and achieve key energy policy goals. Even better, by keeping people warm, Heat Smart kits could reduce a household’s reliance on low-income household energy/fuel assistance. And that helps extend benefits to more households. We’d call that a win-win.

If you’re interested in exploring the idea more and seeing how we can help you, contact us any time.

Meanwhile, Heat Smart wishes you and yours a joyous – and warm – holiday season.