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Xringer · 07-13-12, 02:06 PM

Insulation in old houses is the best thing you can do to make it easier to heat (and cool).
But don't forget the windows. Windows have such bad losses, I don't know why so many
houses have so many large windows.?.
Up north, large south facing windows are fine for the winter months..
But, just remember that a having a lot of glass in a room will counteract a lot of wall or ceiling insulation.
Windows are one of the big weak points in our house, and we have fairly modern double pane Harvey & Andersen windows.

We use mini-split heat/AC here and electric space heaters for back-up.
And have oil-heat for emergency back-up. (Which we will use if all else fails).
Last year was mild in the Boston area, so we never needed back-up at all.
Gas or propane would be my back-up choice, if we were to move..

Our Sanyo systems will still heat the house down to 8 deg F.
When it drops down below 10F, the power use increases dramatically.
But, around here it rarely stays below 10F for very many hours..
If it just dips down from 10 or 15F to 5F between 4 AM & 6 AM, we might not even notice.

07-13-12, 02:06 PM	#4
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Insulation in old houses is the best thing you can do to make it easier to heat (and cool). But don't forget the windows. Windows have such bad losses, I don't know why so many houses have so many large windows.?. Up north, large south facing windows are fine for the winter months.. But, just remember that a having a lot of glass in a room will counteract a lot of wall or ceiling insulation. Windows are one of the big weak points in our house, and we have fairly modern double pane Harvey & Andersen windows. We use mini-split heat/AC here and electric space heaters for back-up. And have oil-heat for emergency back-up. (Which we will use if all else fails). Last year was mild in the Boston area, so we never needed back-up at all. Gas or propane would be my back-up choice, if we were to move.. Our Sanyo systems will still heat the house down to 8 deg F. When it drops down below 10F, the power use increases dramatically. But, around here it rarely stays below 10F for very many hours.. If it just dips down from 10 or 15F to 5F between 4 AM & 6 AM, we might not even notice. __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..