Remodel Guide for Energy Efficient Historic Homes

This resource guide to renovation of historic houses addresses energy efficiency and related issues such as building durability, indoor air quality, and occupant health, safety, and comfort. The best practices described in this guide are based on the results of research and demonstration projects conducted by Building America’s research teams in cooperation with the Dept. of Energy. Building America brings together the nation’s leading building scientists with over 300 production builders to develop, test, and apply innovative, energy-efficient construction practices.

Free Guide to Historic Home Remodeling

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Building America Program is an industry-driven research program that promotes the accelerated development and adoption of advanced building energy technologies in new and existing homes. The program gives home builders and remodelers access to the nation’s leading building science developments to build high-performance homes that use less energy, are more comfortable, healthier to live in, and long lasting. This guide is a resource for contractors and owners of historic houses who want to improve the energy efficiency while protecting historic character.

Although older buildings require attention and maintenance, they repay the effort as assets that gain value over time. More and more, homeowners value historic houses for their appealing aesthetic character, lifestyle advantages, and quality of life. Depending on the circumstances, these advantages may include beautiful ornamentation, spacious room proportions, natural lighting, outdoor spaces, and— not least of all—a feeling of history, tradition, and permanence. Furthermore, time has shown that even the most unappreciated historic styles eventually become popular; so, even if you have mixed feelings about the appearance and design of a historic house, bear in mind before doing anything to diminish its historic character, that the next occupants may love that style—and that may affect the selling price.

Special energy-retrofitting challenges include preserving the home’s historic features, being aware of and adhering to regulations related to historic designations, and addressing health and safety issues. Building America’s research provides field-tested approaches to help address these challenges.