- This weekend temperatures in the Big Bend and South Georgia will drop down into the 30s.
- Local heating companies are preparing for an increase in calls due to temperature changes.
- Watch the video to hear one local expert talk about what you should do now to be ready for temperature changes.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
While some are finding shelter in warming stations, others are putting in the work now to make sure their homes are ready.
I'm your Tallahassee neighborhood reporter Terry Gilliam.
Taking a look at some things you need to keep top of mind, as you prepare to turn the heat on.
"We'll go through them and make sure everything looks up to par to get the ready cold front coming through."
Chad Pudvuh has worked in heating and air for 25 years. He says business doesn't heat up until it's time for neighbors to heat their homes.
"it's not as busy until it gets really cold."
That time is now.
Tallahassee could get its first freeze as we head into the weekend.
So, I connected with key heating and air in Southwest Tallahassee to look at what neighbors should keep in mind as we all get ready to crank up the heat.
I found out that for older heating systems, heat pumps may not operate below 36 degrees and neighbors should turn heat strips on, so their houses heat better and save energy.
Something else Chad says we should all be doing.
"A lot of problems I see are lack of maintenance. In this area, a lot of the systems; the duct work is undersized or over sized ."
I talked to people here in my neighborhood about what they're doing to get ready for the cold.
"Just bundle up man, truthfully. I'll stay indoors, I’m not going to be doing much outside. I'm going to make sure to keep the heater on."
While this drop in temperatures wasn't exactly what he was expecting just yet, griffin says he's ready.
"It was a hot year, so I wasn't expecting a cold winter, but we got to be prepared. I keep it about 75 (degrees)!"
We want to stress the importance of using those cold weather shelters open in Tallahassee through Tuesday. Again, that list of locations is on our website at WTXL.TV. In Southwest Tallahassee, Terry Gilliam, ABC27.
