Capturing Energy-Efficiency Opportunities in Historic Houses

The article written by James Cavallo (2005), describes several methods to reduce energy waste in historic homes. Proper management of energy consumption can lead to improved sustainability, reduce costs, foster extended longevity of structures and ensure improved environments for historic artifacts. The article focuses on three historic state-owned properties in Galena, Illinois based on a case study previously conducted in Quincy, Illinois to help determine measures to reduce energy consumption/loss. The case study in Quincy, Illinois was initiated due to statewide budget constraints. The analysis utilized a home-energy rating system, common in new home evaluations, to determine information about all energy using and/or loosing systems. The system resembles an energy audit but compares the existing house to a standard prototype, while energy audits examine systems in a house while in use. The rating system utilizes the Architectural Energy Corporation\’s REM software to assign a rating from 0 to 100, with 100 indicating the house achieves all possible energy savings. Beyond assigning a score, the software also has the capability to estimate projected annual energy use, along with the cost associated based on a standard family. Between 2001 and 2002, homeowners in Quincy had their homes evaluated by an electric company. The houses were assigned an initial rating and were offered various suggestions to improve the rating of their house. An incentive of $50 per each point of improvement would be provided which would cover approximately 25-50\% of the improvement costs. It was determined that the additional costs would be covered through energy-bill savings within 2-3 years. The houses in Quincy scored an initial rating average of 54.8 points. The results of the case study provided insight into the methods to apply to the three historic buildings in Galena, Illinois, a town with rich historic buildings. The three buildings include president Ulysses S. Grant\’s house built in 1860, the home of Congressman Washburne built in 1843 and lastly the Callahan house built in 1891. It was critical that the energy rating measures made no impact on the appearance of the interior or exterior buildings. The three buildings initially showed higher energy efficiency than in the Quincy case study with the initial ratings above the average mean. This could likely be attributed to the newer furnaces equipped in the three historic buildings, compared to the older systems in the Quincy buildings. The first test was for air infiltration penetrating in and out of the buildings. This measure showed high rates in all three of the buildings, which can account for 5-40\% of air conditioning/heating costs. High air infiltration can lead to high-energy bills, reduced comfort, increased moisture and high levels of humidity, which can lead to a shorter lifespan for structures. A test of forced-air duct systems was also investigated in order to determine any leaks in the system. The three structures all showed weaknesses in this category. Once the tests were conducted, improvements were initiated and energy consumption values were calculated with projected costs displaying significant decreases. The take-away message for any owner of a historic building looking to improve its sustainability can analyze their utility bills, conduct a blower door test, and capture any opportunities which limit the impact on the historic features including: air bypasses to the attic, crawlspace and cellar, tightening furnace and air-conditioning ducts, weather-stripping any doors and hatches and lastly, adding further insulation to the attic. The article summary presents attainable measures for any homeowner or historic building owner who has the desire to reduce the amount of energy consumed. The article provides a case study that applies to two areas in Illinois. It fails to incorporate studies conducted elsewhere which strengthen the potential for this method of energy conservation to be implemented throughout the country. Perhaps the author could have provided a table summarizing incentive programs in several states across the country to show a general summary of programs offered which encourage more people to participate in working towards sustainable heritage conservation. Overall, the article achieves the goal of creating awareness of techniques that could lower energy loss and result in a higher score on the assessment. When owners want to preserve historic buildings they often think of strengthening the structural aspects but don\’t attribute airflow to the potential of increased humidity that could lead to faster deterioration. The article succeeded in shedding light on vital techniques that are often overlooked and could enhance preservation techniques within the industry. The article summarizes with basic ideas of how an owner could start their own energy conservation process with some simple, achievable tasks.

The objective of this article is to demonstrate how effective applying home-energy ratings is in historic homes in identifying areas where energy efficiency could be improved while reducing the costs to maintain these properties. Home-energy ratings is an energy efficiency evaluation strategy typically used to assess new residential developments, however, it has been proven that when applied to existing structures, sustainability can be further achieved. Due to the growing interest and need to minimize costs in maintaining properties owned by the state, this article focuses on examining the energy consumption levels of three state-owned historic residential properties in the town of Galena and finding alternative methods to cut down energy costs. The chosen properties are well-recognized heritage sites and include the Grant Home, the Washburne Home, and the Callahan House. Home-energy ratings comprise of a set of tools and techniques similar to that of energy auditing. This approach includes analyzing utility bills specifically natural gas in the winter months, the use of blower door tests and the evaluation of existing heating systems. The strategy also involves the measuring of the total square footage, the volume of conditioned space, the dimensions of the exterior walls and total ceiling area of all subject properties. These home-energy rating tools have been previously applied to historic houses in the community of Quincy. Not only were the results of the energy rating scores differ from each subject property in Galena, they were significantly different from the results of the Quincy properties from the previous study. As a result of the findings, three methods to mitigate energy loss and ensure cost savings are proposed within this article. They include the reduction of the amount of air infiltration within the buildings, improving the duct systems and increasing the amount of insulation installed especially in the attics. These suggestions were later implemented in the three subject properties and the home-energy rating tools and techniques were performed once again show that there is a significant decrease in energy consumption in all historic properties. To conclude the article, steps to incorporate the tools and methods used to test energy consumption levels in the subject properties are provides. The rationale behind this is to show owners of not only historic homes how to apply cost saving tools to attain better efficiency in their homes. David Cavallo, the author of this journal article, takes a sustainable perspective and approach to conserving heritage buildings. It has already been determined that by preserving and maintaining existing buildings, it is the more sustainable and cost effective option in comparison to the construction of new development. the main objective of Cavallo\&$\#$39;s research is to find ways to make historic buildings even more sustainable in order to extend their overall lifespans. By focusing specifically on identifying methods to increase energy efficiency in historic buildings that are also cost effective, he is able to collect data that is relevant today and make suggestions concerning energy related modifications or updates that can be undertaken by the general public. By focusing on three specific historic residential properties and their energy consumption levels, concrete quantitative data was attained. It further proves that home-energy rating as an energy efficiency evaluation strategy is effective in not only determining energy efficiency scores, but also where improvements can be made to reduce energy and maintenance costs.

The article written by James Cavallo (2005), describes several methods to reduce energy waste in historic homes. Proper management of energy consumption can lead to improved sustainability, reduce costs, foster extended longevity of structures and ensure improved environments for historic artifacts. The article focuses on three historic state-owned properties in Galena, Illinois based on a case study previously conducted in Quincy, Illinois to help determine measures to reduce energy consumption/loss. The case study in Quincy, Illinois was initiated due to statewide budget constraints. The analysis utilized a home-energy rating system, common in new home evaluations, to determine information about all energy using and/or loosing systems. The system resembles an energy audit but compares the existing house to a standard prototype, while energy audits examine systems in a house while in use. The rating system utilizes the Architectural Energy Corporation\’s REM software to assign a rating from 0 to 100, with 100 indicating the house achieves all possible energy savings. Beyond assigning a score, the software also has the capability to estimate projected annual energy use, along with the cost associated based on a standard family. Between 2001 and 2002, homeowners in Quincy had their homes evaluated by an electric company. The houses were assigned an initial rating and were offered various suggestions to improve the rating of their house. An incentive of $50 per each point of improvement would be provided which would cover approximately 25-50\% of the improvement costs. It was determined that the additional costs would be covered through energy-bill savings within 2-3 years. The houses in Quincy scored an initial rating average of 54.8 points. The results of the case study provided insight into the methods to apply to the three historic buildings in Galena, Illinois, a town with rich historic buildings. The three buildings include president Ulysses S. Grant\’s house built in 1860, the home of Congressman Washburne built in 1843 and lastly the Callahan house built in 1891. It was critical that the energy rating measures made no impact on the appearance of the interior or exterior buildings. The three buildings initially showed higher energy efficiency than in the Quincy case study with the initial ratings above the average mean. This could likely be attributed to the newer furnaces equipped in the three historic buildings, compared to the older systems in the Quincy buildings. The first test was for air infiltration penetrating in and out of the buildings. This measure showed high rates in all three of the buildings, which can account for 5-40\% of air conditioning/heating costs. High air infiltration can lead to high-energy bills, reduced comfort, increased moisture and high levels of humidity, which can lead to a shorter lifespan for structures. A test of forced-air duct systems was also investigated in order to determine any leaks in the system. The three structures all showed weaknesses in this category. Once the tests were conducted, improvements were initiated and energy consumption values were calculated with projected costs displaying significant decreases. The take-away message for any owner of a historic building looking to improve its sustainability can analyze their utility bills, conduct a blower door test, and capture any opportunities which limit the impact on the historic features including: air bypasses to the attic, crawlspace and cellar, tightening furnace and air-conditioning ducts, weather-stripping any doors and hatches and lastly, adding further insulation to the attic. The article summary presents attainable measures for any homeowner or historic building owner who has the desire to reduce the amount of energy consumed. The article provides a case study that applies to two areas in Illinois. It fails to incorporate studies conducted elsewhere which strengthen the potential for this method of energy conservation to be implemented throughout the country. Perhaps the author could have provided a table summarizing incentive programs in several states across the country to show a general summary of programs offered which encourage more people to participate in working towards sustainable heritage conservation. Overall, the article achieves the goal of creating awareness of techniques that could lower energy loss and result in a higher score on the assessment. When owners want to preserve historic buildings they often think of strengthening the structural aspects but don\’t attribute airflow to the potential of increased humidity that could lead to faster deterioration. The article succeeded in shedding light on vital techniques that are often overlooked and could enhance preservation techniques within the industry. The article summarizes with basic ideas of how an owner could start their own energy conservation process with some simple, achievable tasks.Reference:Cavallo, James. \"Capturing energy-efficiency opportunities in historic houses.\" Association for Preservation Technology International 36.4 (2005): 19-23. APT Bulletin. Web. 24 July 2013.Picture Sources:http://www.granthome.com/granthome.gif blog.chicagohistory.orgwww.homeenergy.org