Q: How do I improve the efficiency of my older home while keeping its charm?
A: The features of older homes can make them less efficient than modern construction, but it doesn’t have to be that way. There are ways to keep charm while increasing efficiency.
Start by prioritizing the invisible upgrades that make your home more comfortable and efficient. When we were kids, I don’t think any of us thought,
“When I grow up, I want to spend my hard-earned money on insulation.” It’s not as exciting as new countertops or a remodeled bathroom, but air sealing and insulation can save you money every month.
Many older homes are not properly insulated. Insulation has several benefits beyond sealing your home and keeping outdoor air from seeping in. It reduces outdoor noise, makes your home quieter, and improves your overall comfort.
Always properly air seal before you insulate. Older homes with pocket doors, coved ceilings, dumbwaiters, doors to attic spaces, and laundry chutes allow indoor air to escape through the cavities, gaps, and cracks around these classic features. Sealing off open cavities around those features often requires plywood, rigid foam, or drywall fastened into place and then caulked around the edges.
Dense-packed cellulose or closed-cell foam insulation can be sprayed into exterior walls. Skilled contractors can remove pieces of siding and drill holes to fill the wall cavities from the outside of the home. For brick or stone homes, holes can be drilled from the inside and then patched and painted. Insulating walls from the inside of the home requires more time and effort in preparation and cleanup, but having well-insulated walls is worth it.
For safety purposes, knob and tube wiring — commonly used from the early 1880s to the 1930s with no grounding wire — should be replaced before insulating walls and attics. Contact between insulation and knob and tube wiring can create a fire hazard.
Older homes don’t have to be inefficient. Show your home some love and invest in energy efficient upgrades.
Author: Miranda Boutelle is the chief operating officer at Efficiency Services Group in Oregon, a cooperatively owned energy efficiency company. She has more than 20 years of experience helping people save energy at home.
