WESTPORT, Conn. — Westport-based Gault Energy & Home Solutions, the oldest business in Westport and the oldest family-owned and -operated energy company in Fairfield County, announced the launch of the company’s 2016 “Oldest Boiler” Contest. The fifth in 18 years, the contest typically attracts several hundred entries from homeowners across Fairfield County who are eager to upgrade their outdated home heating systems to today’s high-efficiency furnaces and boilers.
The fuel-neutral contest, which is open to all Fairfield County home heating oil, natural gas and Propane consumers, runs from September 6th through September 30th. To enter, homeowners, who need not be Gault Energy & Home Solutions customers, must submit a photo of their existing boiler or furnace, along with a completed entry form. Entries may be submitted online at www.gaultenergy.com/oldestboilercontest or via USPS at P.O. Box 2030, Westport, CT 06880. Throughout the contest, select entries will be posted to Gault Energy & Home Solutions’ Facebook page so that entrants can get a sneak peek at their competition. The winner will be announced the week of October 10th.
According to Sam Gault, the fifth generation to head the family business that bears his name, many homeowners have been struggling to heat their homes with outdated home heating systems. “Our Oldest Boiler data shows that nearly 70 percent of homeowners who have entered the contest over the past 18 years had home heating equipment that was at least 30 years old, and a whopping 20 percent of those had home heating equipment that was more than 50 years old,” Gault says. “These outdated systems can cost homeowners up to 40 percent more in terms of annual energy consumption and hurt the environment because of their inefficiency.”
Citing today’s high-efficiency boilers and furnaces, Gault says that a home that uses an average of 1,200 gallons of home heating fuel annually with equipment that is more than 20 years old can reduce its annual consumption by up to 500 gallons. “A new boiler or furnace can pay for itself in energy savings in a few short years while also significantly reducing carbon emissions, which is good for our wallets and the environment,” Gault adds.