A historic home has numerous perks for its owners; original hardwood floors, high ceilings, intricate detail, and the fact that you have, and are living in, your very own piece of history. However, with the good also comes the bad; poorly insulated walls, air leaks in windows and around doors, and less than perfect water pressure.
Maintaining an energy efficient home not only saves electricity, gas, and water, which in turn saves you money on your utility bills, it also increases the value of your home and makes it safer and healthier to live in. What can you do to maximize the positives and minimize the negatives? For starters, it is important to know that there are many things that you can do on your own, without the help of a professional. However, it is a good idea to get an instrumented energy audit done by a professional energy auditor before getting started, just so you get an idea of what you are in for!
Here are 4 of the most common problems with historic houses and the (sometimes) easy solutions to fix them:
-Problem: Poor Heat Distribution, High Gas Bill
-Solution: Try a combination of a few techniques such as air sealing, adding attic and wall insulation, and adjusting your equipment controls manually. These different improvements will be sure to keep your family thoroughly warm and your wallet happy. One client of ours saved enough in heating bills in just one winter to cover the cost of insulating their attic with spray foam. A one year payback! Many states now have very attractive rebate programs available too. For more information on the right way to insulate your old house, download our eBook on the topic.
-Problem: Drafty Windows, High Electric/Gas Bill
-Solution: We almost always recommend repairing and weatherstripping original windows instead of replacing them. By adding the right weatherstripping, installing storm shutters and using them when it is appropriate, and hanging interior blinds, curtains, and shades, your drafty windows may no longer be an issue. This will seal in the heat in the winter and the A/C in the summer, thereby saving you money in your utility bills every season.
-Problem: Weak Water Pressure, High Water Bill
-Solution: Try replacing low quality shower heads with low-flow, high efficient models. Also, to ensure there are no leaks in the pipes, have them inspected annually after the coldest winter months or replace them all together if you do not feel comfortable with their quality. Not only will this rest your nerves, it will save you money in the long haul if a pipe is to burst! By the way, we're available to do annual inspections on plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems- as well as roofing, gutters, and many other parts of your house.
-Problem: Poor Lighting, High Electric Bill
-Solution: It makes sense, in some cases, to replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (or CFLs for short!). But some of them are slow to turn on and don't provide a great deal of light, in my opinion. Fortunately, newer technology is on the scene. LED lighting has come a long way in the past few years. I replaced the recessed lights in my own kitchen with LED inserts and have been very happy with them. They use a fraction of the energy that incandescents use.
Of course, these are the micro- steps you can take to save some energy costs. Most utilities over free energy audits. If you're in Massachusetts we can point you in the right direction. Quick tip though: most of these consultants will recommend replacing your old windows. Don't believe them!
Comments? Questions? Snide remarks? All are welcome! We'd love to hear from you so please comment on our posts.
Mark Landry is the President of Landmark Services, Inc, one of the premier old house renovation contracting firms in Massachusetts. He loves old houses and would welcome the opportunity to discuss your renovation, restoration, or addition.
Yesterday Landmark Services co-sponsored a symposium called "The Greenest Building is Already Built". It was meant to explore the relationship- good or bad- between sustainability and historic preservation. Five panelists provided wonderful presentations exploring the issues from divergent points of view.
Not surprisingly, there was almost universal agreement that preservation of historic buildings is "green" in that it: a) reduces the amount of debris tossed into landfills and b) it captures the embodied energy that it took to make, transport, and install the materials of which these buildings are made. Many pointed out, too, that present day designers could benefit by studying some of the features found in historic buildings, such as large overhangs to keep out the summer sun.
There was significant disagreement, however, between the preservationists in the room and those who advocate for "deep energy retrofits". A deep energy retrofit typically includes replacing the existing windows, and removing siding and exterior trim in order to install a layer or two of rigid foam insulation over the sheathing. Advocates pointed to the large energy savings (often 50%) and the potential for other benefits such as increased comfort and better indoor air quality. But preservationists decried the wholesale removal of original building fabric and did not like the impact that such a retrofit has on the exterior appearance.
My own view is somewhere in the middle. As a historic preservation contractor, I am obviously favor preserving original building material. However, I am also painfully aware that most existing housing stock is woefully under-insulated and this cannot be ignored as the availability and cost of fossil fuels becomes more unpredictable.
Would I advocate replacing original windows? No I usually would not. The arguments against window replacement are pretty clear. Restoring your original windows and adding a good quality storm window makes more sense financially, aesthetically, and environmentally.
Would I advocate for the removal of siding or roofing and installing rigid foam over the sheathing? Under certain conditions I probably would. If the siding and roofing were going to replaced anyway this approach might make sense if the new exterior siding and trim were detailed in such a way as to maintain the building's original appearance. The difficulty is that by adding 3-6" of foam on top of your roof, and 2-4" to your walls, you need to make the trim boards that much wider. It's tough to do this without creating an eyesore.
But for me it all depends on the significance of the building. I can see taking this approach on a straightforward 1930s Colonial, for example, but it almost certainly would be a mistake for most 18th and 19th century homes because a) these homes are fewer in number and therefore more significant and b) it would be difficult, if not impossible, to maintain the subtle architectural details that give these homes their beauty.
Our approach, here at Landmark Services, depends, of course, on the overall scope of the project and , more importantly, the goals of the clients. If a house is getting gutted anyway, it makes sense to insulate it as well as you can. We use either spray foam or dense packed cellulose because both methods stop most of the air movement through a wall or roof cavity. However on many of our projects we are opening up the walls in selected areas only, such as the kitchen or the bathrooms. In these houses we often just insulate those areas and the attic and leave the rest of the walls untouched unless one of the clients' goals is to reduce energy consumption as much as possible. Frankly, when it comes to old house renovations that is usually not the goal. Our clients want to reduce the energy efficiency and comfort, yes, but they want to maintain the look and character of their house as well.
For a more detailed look at my thoughts on insulating old houses download the paper that I wrote on the topic here.
By the way, the other co-sponsor of yesterday's symposium was a company called Terrene. They are a terrific resource for sustainable building materials such as cabinetry, counters, and flooring.
Comments? Questions? Snide remarks? All are welcome! We'd love to hear from you so please comment on our posts.
Mark Landry is the President of Landmark Services, Inc, one of the premier old house renovation contracting firms in Massachusetts. He loves old houses and would welcome the opportunity to discuss your renovation, restoration, or addition.