Renovating a 110-Year-Old Folk-Victorian to Net Zero Energy
Loading ...Posted on: September 22, 2011
Posted in: Appliances & Gadgets, Energy Efficiency, Featured, Furnishings & Decor, Geothermal, Heating & Cooling, Lighting, Materials, Paint & Finishes, Solar, Video, Water Conservation, Weatherization
Restoring History – Protecting Our Future
“What use is a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?” – Thoreau
by Matt Grocoff, founder Greenovation.TV, contributor to The Environment Report on Public Radio, and the greenovation guru for Old House Web
The full article is available on OLD HOUSE WEB
When my wife Kelly and I bought our 110 year old Folk-Victorian home in Ann Arbor’s Old West Side Historic District, it was a dream come true: drafty old windows, lead paint, zero insulation, a half-century old furnace, asbestos siding, a gas powered mower in the shed and even a few pieces of coal scattered around the back yard. What more could a couple ask for?
From the start we knew that homes use an astonishing 22% of energy consumed in the U.S. In fact, your home uses far more energy than your car. Home energy costs have skyrocketed to an average of $2200 per year. Old homes use even more than their fair share of the energy pie. . . .
But using resources to build big new “green” homes to save resources just seems ironic. There are 130 million existing homes in the U.S.; half were built before 1972.
So, retrofitting America’s old homes is not just about preserving history, it is indeed about protecting our future.
READ MATT’S FULL ARTICLE AT OLD HOUSE WEB
And . . . here’s helpful resources you must explore before starting your Mission Zero:
One Block Off the Grid http://1bog.org/
Joolze.com http://www.joolze.com/
Transcript
Matt: [at front of old Victorian house] Hi, I’m Matt Grocoff, the green renovation expert for Old House Web and host of greenovation.tv and this is my house. So when my wife Kelly and I first bought this 110 year old folk Victorian house, it was a dream come true: it had lead paint, asbestos siding, zero insulation and even an old gas powered lawn mower out in the shed. What more can anybody ask for.
Matt: [in living room] So on move in day we brought two things with us: a crowbar to rip up all the old carpet and a box of compact fluorescent light bulbs. We replaced every light socket in this house with compact fluorescents and then we added motion sensors to every light switch in the house. We leave a room, if we forget to turn it off, it turns it off for us.
Matt: [in bathroom] So at the start of our renovation project, this was the only bathroom in the house. It was fantastic. It had pink Formica tiles, an old flush toilet that flushed 5 gallons every time. This is a Caroma Dual Flush Toilet which only uses .8 gallons every flush and unlike our old toilet never clogs. But not only have we made it look great, but we’ve made it way more energy efficient.
This is a 1-minute a gallon showerhead. This is going to use a gallon and a half a minute less than an ordinary showerhead. This will literally save thousands of gallons over its lifetime.
Matt: [backyard drilling for geothermal] I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say “I thought you couldn’t put geothermal into a historic house.” Well this house proves that wrong. We were able to put three 150-foot bore holes vertically into the back yard on a very small piece of property. Not only do we have a heating and cooling system that uses half the energy of our neighbors, we have a house that’s a whole lot more comfortable.
Matt: [in living room] We’re out to prove that old houses can be the Greenest houses. In fact, with all the renovations we’ve done so far, we’ve made this house ultra efficient and we’ve got a ways to go. We’re going to take this house all the way to Net Zero. Meaning it’s going to produce more energy than it uses.
Matt: [at the computer] So you eco geeks, get ready to get geeked out because this is our WattVision Google Power Meter. And this will tell us how much energy we’re consuming at any given moment. If everyone knew how much energy they were using, they would probably use a lot less. [I'm coming to get you, I got you, I got you] Before we get the solar panels up on the roof, you can see we’ve got a lot of work to do.
Matt: [pointing to house exterior] We’ve got to paint the house, restore these old windows, then top it off with some really energy efficient storm windows. My daughter Jane will probably still be alive when this house turns 200 years old. So restoring America’s old homes is not just about preserving history, it’s about protecting our future. So for Old House Web, this is Matt Grocoff reminding you that, “The Green Revolution Begins at Home”
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September 28th, 2010 at 5:52 am
very very cool.. we have an old house as well and are looking to renovate
October 24th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
Great job. I just found GreenovationTV today (treehugger.com) and started wondering where your house might be in the Old West Side. To my surprise, I spotted your house on the way to Jefferson’s Market, maybe 30 minutes later! I would be very curious to see more about your geothermal installation.
December 14th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Great work! But I was surprised you didn’t mention your insulation and air sealing strategy–items within reach to most renovators, unlike solar PV and ground-source heat pumps. Did you retrofit with cellulose? Will you use thermopane storms, or single pane–low E?
December 14th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Hey Tom: Thanks for the note!! Yes, insulation and sealing are the biggest bang for the buck and the most reachable. Even if you’ve got a boat load of money, these are the things to do before the green-bling of solar and geothermal. We’ve got a couple videos on our insulation and a case study and video about our windows.
You’ll see in the video that we did cellulose in the walls and attic. But, since we first aired the video in May, we have actually removed the cellulose in the attic and put spray foam on the ceiling of the attic. By creating a hot roof we were able to get a much better air seal, eliminate the potential of damaging pests (bats, birds, insects and such are the number one cause of damage in historic homes), and create a conditioned space for our energy recovery ventilator and our return air ducts. Because the spray foam is exposed on the ceiling it is still removable and thus should be within historic preservation standards. It also ensures a balanced moisture and temperature control. The roof should also last much longer without the 170 degree annual temperature swings previously experienced in the attic.
Check out the videos and let me know if you have other questions or things you’d like us to share with others.
http://www.greenovationtv.com/2010/07/insulation-is-sexy-stay-cozy-when-barefoot-and-naked/
http://www.greenovationtv.com/2010/08/case-study-energy-efficient-window-restoration-for-110-year-old-net-zero-home/
February 1st, 2011 at 8:01 am
The houses which are constructed more than 100 years should be renovated according to modern styles,but keeping some of old fashions there.I would like to maintain the bedrooms with the old styles.
May 5th, 2011 at 6:36 pm
Thanks for all the information. I also purchased the tiger foam and sealed the outside joists cavities on the perimeter of our home, great stuff and very easy to use. I have been talking to the guys over at Ultimateair and they suggested that I look at your site. When you sealed your attic ceiling I assume you do not have any soffit vents. That does not create a problem or did you have to do something else.
Thanks,
Ralph
May 13th, 2011 at 5:54 pm
Nice work Ralph!! How did it work out with the DIY foam?
June 1st, 2011 at 12:16 pm
It worked out great! I needed more then a can and less than doing the entire house or addition.
Matt, I live near Lansing and I would like to see your Ultimateair system and talk to you about building a passive home. I talked to Craig over at Ultimateair and said to contact you. If that would work please shoot me an email.
Thanks