Historic Preservation

In describing their historic homes, people often use phrases like "It's quite old, has no insulation at all, and there probably isn't much that can be done with it." The truth is that most historic home are quite adaptable, and much can be done to make them more energy efficient and comfortable.

Many newer buildings are designed to be "maintenance free." Often, this means that when something breaks, you can't fix it and a specialized contractor must be hired to replace it. In older buildings, it is normal to find things that are broken, worn or otherwise deteriorated. However, most of the materials used to construct older buildings—like wood, glass, brick and stone—are intended to last a long time and can be easily repaired or replaced.  It is almost always possible to undertake measures that significantly improve the energy efficiency, comfort, and useful lifetimes of designated historic buildings without affecting their architectural or historic integrity.

The results of taking such steps are usually worthwhile for both the homeowner and for the community at-large.

This the theme of the historic work Synertech has done for the City of Boulder, Colorado.  Much of it quite applicable to existing homes and other buildings in a variety of climate zones, whether or not they are designated as historic buildings.

Toward writing a brochure on homeowner retrofit opportunities, the Synertech team accomplished detailed energy audits of three historic homes in the Boulder area.  A number of opportunities were discovered for cost-effective energy-related retrofits in each home that will not affect their architectural or historic integrity.  

The Audit page of this web site discusses procedures and tools used and included opportunities for downloading a number of related documents.

A copy of the brochure that resulted from this work may be downloaded by clicking here.

We also researched a number of techniques for raising the efficiency of historic homes.  This resulted in a two-volume report titled Making Your Historic Building Energy Efficientby Tom Wilson, Larry Kinney, and Wyncia Clute.    Volume 1 covers Principles and Approaches (click here) and Volume 2 deals with a number of Technical Details (click here).   

Historic windows

Windows in historic homes have areas that are very visible—and most older windows are not nearly as energy efficient and comfortable as are their modern counterparts.  This dilemma was the subject of a research project conducted through Boulder’s Center for Resource Conservation. 

The most important conclusion flowing from this research was that it is possible to improve the overall energy performance of existing window systems by well over four fold through repairs and sealing plus the installation of  excellent storm windows without altering their historic character. This strategy also protects the original window and gives it new life and functionality. In many cases, old windows can be saved while raising the overall efficiency of a home, improving its comfort, and retaining its aesthetic charm.

When combined  with appropriate insulation and high-quality air sealing (of thermal envelopes as well as duct systems), using window systems such as those explored in the research project opens the way to improvements of 60% to 80% over historic buildings that are leaky, have little insulation, and are equipped with wood-framed, single-glazed windows.

Synertech staff conducted technical aspects of the work that was co-sponsored by the Colorado Historical Society, the City of Boulder, Local Environmental Action Division, Alpen Energy Group, and the Synertech Systems Corporation.  A copy of the Historic Window Research final report written by Amy Ellsworth and Larry Kinney may be downloaded here.

A major article on this research appears in the November/December 2011 edition of Home Energy Magazine.  Authored by Larry Kinney, it is titled “Historic Windows: Problems and Solutions.”  Follow this link to download a copy.