Windows & More Points Central Arkansas Homeowners to Winter Weatherization Help

Cabot and Hot Springs exterior contractor outlines how to find winter air leaks and where income-qualified homeowners can apply for no-cost weatherization.

LITTLE ROCK, AR, UNITED STATES, November 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Windows & More Arkansas, an exterior home improvement company with a showroom in Cabot and an office in Hot Springs, is urging Central Arkansas homeowners to find out where their homes are losing heat this winter. The company is also encouraging them to check whether they qualify for publicly funded help before another heating season of preventable energy waste. It is pointing homeowners to two programs that operate independently of the company. The Arkansas Weatherization Assistance Program provides approved energy-efficiency improvements at no cost to qualifying households. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Section 504 Home Repair program offers low-interest repair loans and, for eligible homeowners age 62 and older, grants to remove health and safety hazards.

The timing reflects the program calendars. Arkansas’s weatherization program began a new program year on July 1, 2026, under a proposed state plan that budgets federal funds for a limited number of homes. USDA Rural Development accepts Section 504 applications year-round, with funding tied to the federal fiscal year that began October 1. Many households, meanwhile, are only now noticing drafts, cold rooms, and higher utility bills as overnight temperatures drop.

Windows & More does not administer either program, is not affiliated with the agencies that operate them, and does not determine eligibility. Homeowners apply directly to the program offices listed below. Any work completed through weatherization is set by a program energy audit, not by a homeowner’s choice of contractor or product. The company’s contribution is practical: helping homeowners understand which repairs actually stop energy loss, and when sealing, repair, or replacement is the right response.

A Central Arkansas Exterior Contractor With Two Offices

Windows & More replaces windows, installs architectural shingle roofs, and installs vinyl and engineered wood siding. It also installs fiberglass entry doors and storm doors, builds patio covers and screen rooms, and installs seamless gutters. The company operates a showroom at 107 Plaza Blvd. in Cabot and an office at 2380 Airport Rd. in Hot Springs, and serves homeowners within about 50 miles of each location. From Cabot, that includes communities such as Jacksonville, Sherwood, Beebe, Searcy, and Little Rock. From Hot Springs, it includes Hot Springs Village, Lake Hamilton, Benton, Bryant, and Malvern.

According to the company, it has been replacing windows in Arkansas homes since 1993, and about 90 percent of its work is residential replacement. Its window consultants are ProVia certified and its roofing team holds Malarkey certification. Windows & More is a licensed Arkansas contractor and a BBB-accredited business, and is a member of chambers of commerce in Cabot, Little Rock, Hot Springs, Beebe, and Searcy.

What the Arkansas Weatherization Assistance Program Provides

The U.S. Department of Energy funds the Arkansas Weatherization Assistance Program. The Arkansas Energy Office, part of the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment, administers it. Under the state’s proposed plan for the program year running July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, five nonprofit agencies deliver weatherization services across all 75 Arkansas counties. Those agencies subcontract the work to qualified contractors.

Qualifying households receive approved improvements at no cost. Funded measures include air sealing, duct sealing, insulation, and the evaluation, repair, and replacement of heating systems. An on-site energy audit determines the work on each home by comparing each measure’s expected energy savings against its cost. Only measures that meet the program’s cost-effectiveness standard are installed. Homeowners do not choose the products or the scope of work, and replacement windows are not among the measures the state plan lists.

Arkansas sets the program’s income limit at 200 percent of the federal poverty level, based on household size. The state plan also describes other ways to qualify:

eligibility for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
receipt of certain Social Security Act cash assistance within the previous 12 months
certification under a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development means-tested program

Both homeowners and renters may apply, and renters need written permission from their landlord.

Demand typically exceeds funding, so applicants are ranked by priority points. The state awards a point when a household includes someone age 60 or older, a person receiving disability benefits, or a child under 19. Households with a high energy burden receive two points; the state defines that as spending more than 6.9 percent of total income on heating and cooling. Households that use a high amount of energy receive one point.

Capacity is limited, which is one reason early inquiries matter. The proposed plan budgets Department of Energy annual funds to weatherize at least 158 homes statewide this program year, including 48 through Central Arkansas Development Council. The provider network also draws on LIHEAP funds and a federal infrastructure award. Households still waiting for service must have their eligibility recertified every 12 months. The plan also notes that the state’s funding formula weighs the share of houses built before 1990 in each county, one indicator of where older, less efficient housing is concentrated.

The state also runs a Weatherization Readiness Fund for homes that would otherwise be deferred because of problems outside the scope of weatherization. Examples include roof leaks, drainage issues, moisture, and certain electrical hazards. These repairs are handled through the program and require state approval.

Where Cabot and Hot Springs Homeowners Apply

The Arkansas Energy Office lists Central Arkansas Development Council (CADC) as the weatherization provider for both Lonoke County, which includes Cabot, and Garland County, which includes Hot Springs. CADC’s territory also covers Pulaski, Saline, and Hot Spring counties. The state lists CADC’s weatherization contact number as 501-776-8446. Homeowners should call to confirm current intake procedures, funding availability, and waiting lists. Residents of other counties can find their local provider through the Arkansas Energy Office.

Different agencies handle LIHEAP heating-bill assistance in the two markets. The state’s 2026 LIHEAP outreach materials list Community Services Office (501-624-5724) for Garland County and CADC (501-315-1121) for Lonoke County.

USDA Section 504 Home Repair: Help for Eligible Older Homeowners

USDA Rural Development’s Section 504 Home Repair program offers grants of up to $10,000 to very-low-income homeowners age 62 and older to remove health and safety hazards. It also offers repair loans of up to $40,000, at a fixed 1 percent interest rate over 20 years, to eligible low- and very-low-income homeowners to repair, improve, or modernize their homes. Loans and grants can be combined for up to $50,000 in assistance.

Applicants must own and live in the home, be unable to obtain affordable credit elsewhere, and fall within county income limits. The home must also be in an eligible rural area. Some addresses inside larger cities may not qualify while nearby rural areas may, so USDA recommends checking a specific address with its online eligibility tool. Grants carry a $10,000 lifetime limit and must be repaid if the property is sold within three years. Approval times depend on funding availability.

Section 504 is not a general window-replacement grant, and grant funds must address health and safety hazards. In Arkansas, the USDA Rural Development office in Forrest City (870-633-3055, ext. 4) handles applications for Lonoke County. The office in Hope (870-777-8800, ext. 4) handles Garland County.

What Delaying Improvements Can Cost

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program estimates that sealing air leaks and adding insulation can save homeowners an average of 15 percent on heating and cooling costs nationwide. The insulation work covers attics, floors over crawl spaces, and accessible basement rim joists. EPA’s modeling shows smaller savings in warmer climates. For Climate Zone 3, which covers most of Arkansas, the estimate is 14 percent of heating and cooling costs. EPA’s model of a typical existing home also assumes 23 percent total duct leakage, which is why duct sealing appears alongside air sealing in many weatherization plans.

As an illustration only, a household spending $2,400 a year on heating and cooling would save about $336 a year at the 14 percent estimate. Actual results depend on a home’s construction, condition, fuel type, and how the household uses energy. The estimate applies to air sealing combined with insulation. It is not an estimate of savings from replacing windows.

Finding the Leak Before Choosing the Fix

Windows & More’s guidance starts with diagnosis. Many air leaks are in places homeowners do not connect with windows: attic openings, gaps where pipes and wires pass through walls, loose duct connections, and the joints between window or door trim and the wall. ENERGY STAR’s sealing-and-insulating guidance names leaks to the attic, through the foundation, and around windows and doors as primary targets.

Many window and door drafts can be fixed with caulking, new weatherstripping, door sweeps, or adjusting sashes and hardware, without full replacement. One simple test: if a curtain moves on a windy day while the window is closed, air is leaking around the frame or sash. For older entry doors that are still in sound condition, a storm door can add another layer against wind and weather.

Replacement becomes the more practical choice when the window itself has failed:

Fog or condensation between the panes means the insulated glass seal has failed and the insulating gas has escaped.
Frames with rot or soft spots will keep deteriorating.
Sashes that stick, will not lock, or will not stay open can be a safety problem as well as a source of air leakage.
Single-pane aluminum frames, common in older Arkansas homes, offer little resistance to heat transfer.

The company states on its website that it will tell a homeowner when a full replacement is not needed. For homeowners who do need new windows, timing matters. Windows & More reports that custom windows typically take about six weeks to arrive, and installation is usually scheduled within about two weeks after that. Homeowners deciding before the coldest months, or before next summer’s cooling season, can plan around that lead time.

“Every winter we talk with homeowners who assume their windows are the whole problem, and sometimes they are,” said Danny McAnly, owner of Windows & More. “But much of the air we find escaping is coming from somewhere else, and a lot of what we see around windows can be fixed with sealing or weatherstripping. We would rather a homeowner put their money into the repair that actually solves the problem.”

“Some of the households hit hardest by winter bills may qualify for help they have never heard of,” McAnly said. “We are not part of these programs, and we do not decide who qualifies. We want families in Cabot, Hot Springs, and the communities between them to know the programs exist and to contact the program offices directly.”

Steps Homeowners Can Take Now

Homeowners worried about winter energy costs can start by noting which rooms feel drafty or cold, which windows show fog between the panes, and which doors show daylight around their edges. Households that may meet the income guidelines can contact the weatherization provider for their county and ask about current intake and waiting lists. Homeowners age 62 and older can check their address on USDA’s rural eligibility tool and contact the Rural Development office that serves their county. Homeowners planning their own repairs can request an assessment from a licensed contractor and ask which problems can be repaired and which require replacement.

About Windows & More Arkansas

Windows & More Arkansas is an exterior home improvement company serving Central Arkansas from a showroom at 107 Plaza Blvd., Cabot, AR 72023, and an office at 2380 Airport Rd., Hot Springs, AR 71913. It serves homeowners within about 50 miles of each location. Services include:

replacement windows
roofing
vinyl and engineered wood siding
fiberglass entry doors and storm doors
patio covers and screen rooms
seamless gutters

The company also supplies windows and exterior products to builders and contractors. Its sister company, Hot Springs Awning, provides awnings, shades, and aluminum covers. Windows & More is a licensed Arkansas contractor and a BBB-accredited business. Reach the Cabot office at (501) 843-3000 and the Hot Springs office at (501) 623-7786. More information is available at https://arkwindowsandmore.com/.

Danny McAnly
Windows & More Arkansas
+1 (501) 843-3000
info@arkwindowsandmore.com
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