1918 Bungalow

Doug Dewitz

I have agonized over a heating system for a 1918 brick home,(double coursed brick walls;stucco and plaster); considering ground loop heat pumps to solar air collectors. No matter what heat input is injected into the home, it will be conducted through the walls. Insulation and sealing have been done. Does anyone have an educated opinion on the best long term solution to this problem house.
Doug

Steamhead

What type of system

is there now?

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Doug Dewitz

1918 bungalow

Currently an electric forced air furnace has been removed. Heat supplies are a propane furnace rated fireplace insert and 2 electric in wall heaters. These run almost constantly from mid Oct to mid April here in Kanab, Ut at 37 lat.on the Az boarder

Larry Weingarten

painful solution

The best long term solution is good insulation and it sounds like you don't have that. If it were something effective like rigid foam on the outside you would still get the benefit of all that mass. Perhaps there is something you can do with the attic/roof to upgrade the insulation as well? Start with a snug shell, and heating will be a lot less trouble. A good way to assess what you have now might be using an infra-red camera on a cold day to find the major heat leaks. Best of luck on your exams!

Weezbo

dont go for cheapest initial install....

thats the thing that bites all the way to the bank each and everyday....Insulation sounds like "added expense"cirulating water through tubing gotta be pricey... thing is you pay for them now done deal. operational costs are the things that drive the happy homeowner to the poor house.

hr

Build a new house

You are corect in your thinking. You have to either accept the R-value the current walls allow or figure a way to add insulation inside or out. This is a tough "easy fix" and this question comes across this board often regarding masonary walls.

See if a contractor or the local utility can do a blower door test. This will help you find infiltration leaks. Sealing these may provide some energy savings and is usually an inexpensive DIY practice. Often a few cans of expanding foam will fix a lot of leaks!

Upgrading windows or weather strip may help a little.


High efficiency equipment will save some dollars, but it doesn't replace insulation as a trade off for saving fuel dollars. You best bang for the bucks is keeping as much heat inside the home as possible.

hot rod

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Thad English

insulation

Insulation is a good return on investment financially and comfort-wise. I just had cellulose blown into the exterior walls of my home (which had zero, nil, nadalick of insulation). We did the attic to an r-30 while we were at it and it has made a world of difference already. In the summer so far, the 3rd floor was ungodly hot all the time, no matter what the temp was outside (in philly it has hovered around 80 degrees with 80+% humidity for the last several weeks. I can't recall the dewpoint but severly unpleasant is what it felt like). In the first few days after the insulation was blown in, the temp on the third floor dropped to bearable. If we cut 30% off the natural gas bill this winter the insulation will pay for itself in 3 years. And when you count the savings in A/C usage during summer months it is an even faster return.

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Something that might help

There is a low-emissivity INTERIOR paint called "Raydiance". Only available in pre-mixed colors. Don't expect miracles (or downrate equipment), but physics are behind the product and it should be able to save more energy during its lifetime than its cost above normal paint.

Brent_2

How many square feet? Is this your main residence or a vacation home? When you say bungalow I think small. Are you ready to spend the $$$? Do you have any idea how much money a ground source heat pump loop will cost let alone a solar system? You might be spending more money than the house is worth.
A hot water heat setup would probably be the best but you will have to decide how much money you want to spend on this bungalow.

brent

Red Sox diehard

First time in a long time

that "1918" was mentioned without it refering to the Curse of the Bambino. Maybe this really IS the year.