Description
How can we make old houses energy efficient without devaluing future sustainability? And how can we do so without compromising their appeal and character?
This practical and essential guide to retrofitting for energy efficiency seeks to provide answers to this and other questions homeowners of old houses are asking. Whether your house is medieval and timber-framed or a Georgian, Victorian or Edwardian terrace, it can be made more energy efficient and sustainable. This practical, comprehensive and fully illustrated handbook will show you how.
Revised and updated throughout, and with a foreword by Kevin McCloud, Old House Eco Handbook includes chapters on the building envelope; roofs and ceilings; windows and doors; walls; floors; paints; energy, air and water; plus a brand new chapter on retrofit materials.
In association with The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, this is a must have for owners of old houses looking to make their homes more energy efficient and sustainable.
OLD HOUSES CAN BE GREEN
Old houses are special, be they medieval and timber framed, part of an Edwardian brick terrace or any period or style in between.
Retrofitting them to improve energy efficiency is not about quick fixes. Many fall into the ‘hard to treat’ category, most commonly because they have solid walls of traditional construction that cannot easily be modified without unintended consequences. They can be difficult to insulate for several reasons: moisture movement and ‘breathability’ may be affected, historic fabric needs to be retained or there is a risk of spoiling their appearance and character.
Old buildings frequently possess values associated with being ‘eco’ or ‘green’, as they are built with natural, often local, materials and employ reusable and easily repairable components. They also represent an investment in craftsmanship and design and commonly have a high thermal mass, which helps to prevent summer overheating. In short, they are a valuable resource for the future and have a significant role to play in maintaining communities, helping to underpin them with character and aesthetic interest.
Well-executed retrofits reinforce these qualities and have the potential to cut carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by improving the buildings’ energy efficiency. Doing this potentially also reduces fuel poverty and ill health, as well as helping to avoid buildings being lost through redundancy or dilapidation.
But we must take care in the process: unless we fully understand how an old building works there is a very real risk that, at some point in the future, we may find ourselves rectifying problems created by the use of ill-judged techniques and materials.
Minor work, major benefits
- Insulate roof spaces and pipes.
- Draughtproof doors, windows and floorboards.
- Deal with the source of damp problems.
- Carry out regular maintenance.
- Close curtains and shutters just before it gets dark to retain the heat of the day and stop draughts
- Buy an energy monitor to understand your energy use.
- Review the timings on heating controls.
- Turn down the thermostat by a couple of degrees and overhaul the heating system.
Renovating and retrofitting old buildings may involve stripping out large quantities of inappropriate materials such as concrete.
Keep spares. For example, surplus floor tiles can be stored under a kitchen unit’s plinth to allow you to repair, rather than have to replace, the floor if it suffers damage.
Waste checklist
Think about how waste can be reduced:
- Choose materials that will be more easily recycled or reused in the future.
- Design new work with a view to minimising waste. For example, use standard-sized components so that unusable offcuts will be avoided.
- Try to buy materials on the understanding that any surplus can be returned.
- Oblige builders and sub-contractors to cooperate in waste minimisation as part of their contract.
- Think about ways of recycling or reusing materials.
- Wherever appropriate, recycle waste concrete and brick by using it as hardcore or in soakaways.
- Segregate waste on site to make recycling easier.
- Try to keep as much waste on site as possible to save unnecessary transport and landfill. For example, accommodate soil dug from footings in garden landscaping.
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