Believe it or not, there are still some people out there who think that global warming is just a great big scare tactic. That we can just keep on business as usual, burning up whatever fossil fuel we need to just to keep comfortable. When wintertime comes, we just turn up the thermostat, live with the fact that some parts of our houses are hot, some cold, some drafty, none of it exactly comfortable. That’s winter, right?
No.
Chances are, your old furnace and poorly designed ductwork are to blame, because once these details are taken care of, comfort in your house in wintertime comes back to stay. Never mind that you might be using less gas and creating less carbon emissions—global warming is a myth, right?
So how about this—house warmer AND you spend, oh ,I don’t know, 25% less of your money heating the great outdoors. Money in your pocket, do you believe in that?
Well, you have to spend some. Not a lot, as dollars go these days, and you’ll get it all back in less than ten years in fuel savings. Maybe less than seven.
Case study by Building Solutions in Redwood City California (where the winters are by New England standards, pretty darn mild). Take an older house, 1850 sf, built before insulation was thought necessary, so there is none in the walls. It has its original 80% efficient gas furnace, and the original ductwork that went with it.
One key to understanding energy efficiency for older homes is the idea of “Test In”, meaning with blower doors and duct blasters, you find out up front where the warm air is leaking out of the forced air system, and through penetrations in the walls and plates. You find those leaks in the walls, and you seal them with spray foam insulation. Simple enough. Then you replace the old ductwork with new sized for delivery, and the old furnace with a new 95% efficient one, also correctly sized (both by the ACCA manuals, more on these later). Then you “Test Out,” for a data-based hard look at the results of the work done.
Results for the case study:
• reduction of heat loss through sealing up air infiltration 11%
• reduction of air leakage from new, well sealed duct system 23%
• reduction of lost heat load 7%
• increase in owner satisfaction with comfort level of house—priceless
This without insulating the walls! Still don’t believe it? Contact Levi Blankenship at BuildingSolutions.com for how they did it.
My point is this: You can do part of an energy-efficiency upgrade, for a relatively low cost—in this case about $5,000—and reap great results. It doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. Look for a BPI (Building Performance Institute) certified energy efficiency contractor in your area. Call them, see what they think they can do for you.
Or, you can hang an extra sweater by the door of your coldest rooms, and pay more than you have to for gas or fuel oil indefinitely into the future.
Your choice.
© David Hirzel 1/28/10
Green Building: Design Guidelines for a Changing World 