Found my dream house- over 100 year old Victorian 2000sq ftIt used to be a 2-family but was convertedHowever, there are still 2 furnaces (oil) and three oil tanks (tanks hold 275 gal apiece)Current owners very vague- disclosure says age of furnaces unknown, and insulation for the house is unknownAsked them to disclose their heating bills and find out they've been paying around $5,000 annually (1450-1600 gallons annually), which to me is outrageous! I know I need to look into having the house better insulated as well as a new furnace, but do you think even with these steps taken that I could cut the fuel bill to $3,000 annually? Don't want to buy the house and drown in heating costsMy hubby doesn't even want to bother anymore, but I figured I'd give Answers a tryShould I give up the dream and look for a smaller house, or would an investment make it worth my while?PS- I live in Northeast PA, so the winters get pretty cold.
We have a fuel oil furnace as wellIt was so extremely expensive this yearMy husband wants to add a fuel pump onto it which can save lots of $$You can also add a woodburning outside unit that can be connected to it if you have access to wood Some people add on pellet stoves to heat withIf you have a pond you can do geothermal which costs alot up front but pays for itself with cooling and heatingThere are electric portable heaters tooCheck your windows,add insulation, attic fans can circulate the heat ,lower ceilings,close off rooms you don't use oftenGood luckI love our old house but heating it is a pain in the wallet.
Check the width of the outside walls with an insulation companySome older houses may have single pane picture windows that leak heat and walls that are too thin to blow insulation into (4 to 6 inches?)You could add insulation on the outside of the house with aluminum siding maybe.Maybe some insulation added in the attic tooNew furnace (maybe a heat pump?) might help with zoned heating and a thermostat that automatically adjusts to keep the temp constantMaybe solar panels, but that is expensive too I think you might be getting some huge bills to fix it up, unless you can get it on This Old House tv showGet a house inspector to inspect it before buying.esp to see if it will need a new roof or any plumbing or electrical problems, etcAlso to check if any drainage problems or basement flooding problems or any termites or rotten foundation problemsReally old houses could eat you alive in heating bills and repair bills and unless there are a lot of shade trees shading the house, it could eat you alive in air conditioning bills too.
Easily you can reduce your billModern furnaces are 90-95% fuel effecientMost victorian homes have no insulationYou need a minimum of r-19 in your atticI would recommend r-30You want whatever can be placed into your wallsUsually an r-19This can be difficult without peeling themThere used to be a Urea Formaldahyde insulation that could be pumped in but because of people mis-using the product I believe it was outlawed but you could checkAlso modern windows with insulated glass helps considerablyRemember that 2/3 of your heat loss occurs through your walls and windowsHope this helpsGrew up in the business.
I have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath small house in the South near the Gulf of Mexico.my heat pump and electric bill runs around $140 a month, winter and summer.that is the entire bill though, not just for climate control.I feel it is reasonable as I keep it comfortable in my home.we have a lot of insulation and the house is on a concrete slab.tile floors.
you probably need to have blown in insulationand replacement windowsin these days where we are probably about to enter into a recession, one should take caution when making any purchaseespecially a house that is 2000 square feetdo you honestly need such a big house? My favorite house is a big old Victorian as you described but, I know I'd be losing my shirt so to speak to own ityou will have to expect that the house will most likely have old pluming and electrical wiringand asbestos is a very big concern along with lead paintbuyer beware i sayunless have plenty of money, the last thing i'd be worried about is the heating(you can always keep it at 62f, and wear lots of sweaters etcand, it is not winter all year longbut, how much enjoyment would you get if you are always worried about money? and what are the taxes on this property think hardbest wishes
