My house has been heated by an oil furnace as long as I can remember. It marginally passed its maintenance inspection every year but in the wintertime when it came on it was noisy and the house temperature was either too warm or too cool. The oil tank, still in excellent condition, was a few months shy of being 10 years old. According to my insurance company and its arcane rules it had to be replaced. Last February was time for a change.
We decided on a high efficiency propane furnace. The new installation had to be co-ordinated with the removal of the old furnace and the oil tank all in one day. I hoped there would not be any hiccups as it was freezing cold outside! The tank was drained of half a tank of oil — that made me winch — cut in half and carried outside. The old furnace was removed next and then the propane one set in place. The ducts were connected and the electrics completed. Presto, it worked like a charm. We even took a ‘smart’ temperature controller that could be interfaced remotely. Only problem is I don’t have a cell phone. The settings were a little complex but after playing around for a few days I read the instruction manual.
What a major difference; the room temperature seemed virtually constant and no more flares of too high heat. I even had more space in the basement for storing more junk. Heating bills were cut but too early for an estimate. Electricity costs were shaved a little as well.
The next step was to take advantage of an energy savings incentive. To earn a rebate, an energy audit before installation of the furnace became the benchmark. The furnace itself made up 90 percent of the first rebate level. In fact, we managed to reach the second level where the rebate amounted to about 25 percent of the furnace cost. Reducing air leakage is usually the most cost-effective measure, the leakier the home, the greater the potential savings, usually around 35 percent of total heat loss! This home, approximately 175 years old but well maintained over the years along with miniscule wall insulation of sawdust, was an excellent candidate.
I would never have pictured the number of air-leaks encountered. Over half the window frames alone needed caulking on all sides, two were sealed with plastic wrap for the winter and even an older window that hadn’t seen its storm window for years was introduced to it. I started with the tubes of caulking but soon switched to cartridges. Of the four exterior doors, two needed new weather-stripping and one we permanently closed until after the final audit and springtime.
My image of insulation is a thick, warm quilt draped over a pointy-headed house, but discovered it was far from that. The main attic was sufficiently sealed but a second one had a layer of dust thicker than the fibreglass. That didn’t keep the fiberglass from getting under my clothes I when make a foray up there. I did though find a croquet set from when I was a kid, a stinking pair of too small sneakers and an old 45 rpm Fats Domino record, the label too smeared to read the song title.
In addition, air sealing improves comfort, protects the building structure from moisture damage, and reduces the amount of dust that enters from the outdoors. There were the attic entrances themselves to be sealed as were electrical outlets, some ceiling fixtures, around baseboard trims and mouldings and basement headers. Of course, the latest energy efficient bulbs were used wherever possible.
If heating costs are too much, then get out a calking gun and blank out all those cracks and crevices. And you might even get an energy saving rebate for the asking and only a little effort, I did.
