Carta Stories:
Mary R., Brookhaven, NY
Mary R. is a semi-retired nurse who has lived in her charming Brookhaven home for the past 38 years. And while she has made countless memories in her home, she also had a mounting wish list of items on her “to do” list to keep her home a comfortable and safe place for her to live as she ages. Carta partnered with Mary to listen to her needs and identify relevant upgrades that had been on her wish list for decades. Together we identified relevant subsidies and programs that allowed Mary’s home to be upgraded at a substantially reduced cost, all while being respectful of and attentive to her unique needs and desires.
At the top of Mary’s wish list was an upgraded heading system. Over the years this project had always been deprioritized, with other expenses cropping up and taking higher priority. Particularly for a retiree on fixed income, Mary has to spend money on only the most pressing items that cannot be repaired. And while her heating system was inefficient and expensive to operate, it always fell down the list.Together, we retired Mary's old oil-fired heating system, which is far more costly to operate and produced heat more unevenly than modern heating systems. Her old system also posed health & safety concerns, which meant she was always living with the risk of an oil heating system hazard. Carta Electric helped Mary:
1. Reduce her cost contribution to a manageable level
2. Vastly simplify the implementation and installation process
3. Identify complementary improvements that added further cost benefits to Mary
Today, Mary’s heating bill is already lower than her previous oil heating expenses. Her home is more comfortable and evenly heated, and she is able to better enjoy her home today and far into the future. She can now envision a future where she can stay in her home longer as she ages. In Mary’s words, "My home is warmer; the heating system is quiet and very accurate. If I can be here as I age, that’s going to be a wonderful thing. And this is a really good step to that happening.”