I have gradually worked toward tightening up the thermal envelope of my home.
The condo was built sometime in the late eighteen hundreds.
Most of the renovations made before my family moved in were not handled properly. The former owners absolutely prioritized cost savings over quality. The windows they installed were single-paned plus no one bothered to properly caulk around them, then none of the exterior doors closed tightly. The boiler plus cooling system were never professionally diagnosed. The attic lacked insulation. Because of the age plus size of the house, every project is time-consuming, labor-intensive plus high-priced. Due to the weather extremes in our area, the cost of heating plus cooling adds up to about fifty percent of our house energy usage. There is sizable potential to trim expenses. It took me nearly ten years to replace all of the windows with Energy Star rated, low E, triple-pane options. To make the project more affordable, I taught myself how to handle the installation. I was absolutely conscientious about insulating plus caulking around them. I spent a absolutely unpleasant weekend installing insulation in the attic. I’ve bought up-to-date front plus back doors plus added ceiling fans to help with cooling in the Summer plus to better distribute the heated air in the winter. Along with being conscientious about filter fluctuations for the boiler plus cooling system, I’ve enrolled into a maintenance plan with a local Heating plus A/C company. I also schedule testing for the ductwork every three years. Because of my efforts, the bi-weekly utility bills are a bit lower plus the entire condo is far more comfortable. I am still planning to replace the roof plus eventually, invest into a higher efficiency heating plus cooling system.