advice on old home / more efficient h/c

15 years ago

Hello folks. My family and I live in 1900's colonial house. 2 story, about 2700 sq. ft. Was remodeled in the 80s with up to date electric and central heat/air. Bottom floor an all outdoor unit that is gas fed for heat with an electric blower motor. Upstairs unit is smaller with the heat unit in the attic. Ceiling fans in almost every room downstairs.

My last gas bill was $400. We keep the upstairs unit off in the winter time. Downstairs unit on 65. This house has blown in insulation in the outside walls (2 x 6 walls) (I don't know if every section has insulation in it, however), and roll insulation in the 2nd floor attic floor. There is none in the angled roof ceiling at all.

Downsides: many large old windows - original to the house with cheapo storm windows over them that are not sealed good at all. Crawlspace has insulation on the outside perimeter, but the bottom floor above the crawlspace is a single board layer that has no insulation under it all. Bottom floor ceilings are like 11 or 12 feet tall.

The units are 20-25 years old. They are Trane units, I think.

Basically, I need to know what steps I can take to make the largest impact on my gas bill for heating. I love this house, but it is very discouraging paying to heat it.

Any advice would help greatly. I can supply more information if needed.

Thank you.

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Comments (6)

brickeyee
15 years ago
Tighten up the windows.
Infiltration losses are a huge source of $$.

You do not heave to replace the windows, but they can be retrofitted with better seals.

Resource Conservation Technology in Baltimore, MD has all sorts of plastic seals (flipper seals) that are installed in a very narrow groove routed in the edge of each sash.
A decent felt seal at the parting rail in the middle of double hung windows seals there.

It it a decent amount of work to do on each window, but the payback is very good.

They also have a good selection of door seals (all sides and the bottom).

You might have an infrared camera used to check for insulation misses, but preventing infiltration is a large step.
maryland_irisman
15 years ago
I can't throw my 2 cents in without first saying, what brickeyee suggests is a fantastic and logical start and will provide great results. The cheapo storm windows will be ok if you follow that advice. I also think you may want to have insulation blown into the wall cavities. An early 1900's house probably doesn't have any wall insulation. If there's no insulation in the attic, I'd suggest you have that done right away. Another area of infiltration may be recepticles and wall switches on the outside walls. You can buy kits for sealing them just about anywhere. Some of the utility companies give them away. The DIY costs for all this may be a little bit more than one months gas bill and save you a considerable amount down the road as prices rise.
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jakkwb
Original Author
15 years ago
These storm windows are the bolt on kind - they go right over the original frames. Some of them you can hear wind blowing through sometimes. My question - can I just replace the screws to tighten them down and then seal around them with silicon or should I remove the windows and sandwich sealer between the storm frame and the original frame? I know anything will help....

About the insulation - I know the east facing wall has blown in in it. I'm not sure about the other three walls.

Thanks for all the input thus far....
energy_rater_la
15 years ago
Air sealing is your fastest savings.
You might consider hiring some one to blower door test your house and make recomendations about where & how
to seal the leakage. Some companies will also test
the ductwork.
fix the house leakage, repair the duct leakage and see if
utility cost does not go down.

You could prolly find a lot of the leakage sites yourself
if you know what to look for.
(wish I knew how to put pics in my reply!)
Spiders build webs were air moves. Look in cabinets by
plumbing penetrations, inside closets, ceiling moldings,
light fixtures.
Most areas inside your house are best sealed with caulk
which will expand and contract with the house.
Open your return air..do you see exposed 2xs'?
If you have a heating system closet look around the door frame..dust? can you shine a flashlight and see the return
air plenum? do you see dirty insulation in the r/a?
Is the platform sealed to the walls & to the door when it closes?
If you really want to do some homework..go in your attic.
Look for spiderwebs and dirty insulation. where there is a gap or a hole or even an open plumbing wall the insulation will be dirty around the opening. This is where the house
sucks dirty insulated laded air into your house.
Are the supply and return plenums well sealed to the heating system?
Duct tapes fail, foil tapes don't adhere well..these
are areas to be mastic sealed.

take a look at the ductwork..again..dirty insulation?
move the insulation back at the duct to duct collar connection at the supply plenum. Is it mastic sealed?

are there areas of the living space open to the attic?
over shower units, around chimney? you should have a good air barrier first, then a good insulation barrier.

btw, where are you located?

best of luck.
jakkwb
Original Author
15 years ago
NE Arkansas.
garymunson-2008
15 years ago
energy rater....go to http://tinypic.com/ and upload your picture to them...the site will then let you pick a size then give you a url that you can include in your post for the picture.

advice on old home / more efficient h/c

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brickeyee

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advice on old home / more efficient h/c

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brickeyee

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