Locals share winter cost-saving tips

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November 15, 2009

By VANESSA WHITE The Press Republican Sun Nov 15, 2009, 10:28 PM EST

PLATTSBURGH — Darrell Davis remembered the cold winter of '04 when he was a high-school student, living with his parents in Harlem.

"We noticed air was coming in through the windows," he said.

Davis compared the plastic his folks had used to seal the windows to the tape he plans to use on his own apartment windows while attending school at Plattsburgh State.

"In terms of heating my unit, I'm going to keep my windows closed. I'll keep my heat on during certain times of the day: when I wake up in the morning and when I go to sleep at night."

Davis, an off-campus student, said that by running his heat for about an hour, twice a day, he hopes to save money.

"Last year, I kept the heat on all the time. That was just way too expensive."

SPACE HEATERS
Jeanine Mucci and Musa Scott, also students at the college, share an apartment off campus. They plan on investing in a space heater.

"Last year, we just left the heat on," Scott said. "Now we need to save money."

Mucci said they will shut off the heat when they are away from their apartment but leave the space heater on for their pit bull, Apollo.

"He'll get a blanket and a sweater," she said.

Scott added that they would invest in long johns.

Larry Dorsey, 70, of Plattsburgh said he has been using portable heaters for the past two years.

"They use less energy. They heat the floor, which spreads the heat out."

He said his ceiling fans circulate the heat that rises from the floor, distributing it throughout his house.

Originally, Dorsey had bought two heaters, but he invested in three more this month.

HEATING HELP
Mike Kelly of Kelco Heating Service in Peru doesn't think portable heaters are that sound an investment.

"With alternative heating, people throw money away. With electric heaters, people won't save if they live outside the city."

Tony Salerno, who works on plumbing, heating and electric throughout Essex County, said he has seen more work with furnaces since the recession hit.

"Most customers feel secure knowing they have someone reputable working on their heating system."

Salerno said problems such as carbon-monoxide poisoning can result from poor furnace installments and lack of cleaning.

QUICK HEAT
Joe Aesquizel, 45, of Peru said that to stay warm, his family will be using a monitor heater.

"It runs on propane. It's hot water on demand."

Aesquizel said the monitors heat up quickly and are cheaper than electric heaters.

"We have automatic drop-off (of fuel) once a month."

In addition to using propane to stay warm this winter, Aesquizel said he would be stocking up on chicken-noodle soup.