3000 sq ft 1890's Victorian in Central NY

Amy & Bill, There is a new (yet old) technology emerging in the energy reduction arena. Very large manufacturing and other big users of electricity have been using power factor correction devices to save on thier power bills for over 30 years. This technology is now small enough and affordable enough for the average home owner. By taking a laging power factor of lets say .65 and increasing it to .95 you could save 10-25% on your electric bill. Be careful though, some products make claims of power factor correction, however never correct enough to save you money.

Hey everyone...thanks for all of the posts. I am going to shed some light on a big issue.  The blown in insulation is a HUGE project, when I say HUGE, I mean every wall in my house has lathe and plaster that is in rough shape. We are unable to peal off the old wall paper because the plaster just collaspes behind it.  There are also gaps between the lathe. We want to insulate the walls, but I am afraid on our size house that gutting the rooms walls, insulating with rolled insulation, and then installing sheetrock would have to be the route we took.  We plan to do this, one room at a time, but this could take 2yrs or more with 3000sq ft.

We also live in a city dwelling, so things like masonary heaters, wood burning stoves, etc. are hard to wrap our minds around because we would have to ship in the wood.  Not very self sustaining, and we are convicted by the thought of the cost of gas and the use of gas to ship the wood to us..  Being in the city, tapping into something free...solar, wind sounds more appealing.  But again, how effiecient would it be if the house wasn't insulated.  But wouldn't anything help a little?

This is our plan....before winter we are going to button up bad spots, and lay some insulation on the floor of the attic around the edges.  Also, we are thinking about putting straw bails on the ground around the perimeter of the house.

So with that, I am still way open for any suggestions.

Ami&bill

My dad built a little greenhouse on the back of our home that could be accessed from the house through a patio door.  Sunny days in winter the door got left open and the greenhouse heated the whole home.    

Stone? Brick? Wood?  If you have hollow walls you can have cellulose (recyled paper) blown in through 1 inch holes drilled from either inside or out, at top of each stud cavity - and fill up the attic.

Contractors who do this for a living buy the product for less than anyone else, and can often put it in for less than you can rent the blower machines yourself. They make their money on retailing the product.  Most will allow you to do the prep - drill the holes and fit the vent extensions in the attic, and credit your contribution.  You then have to plug the holes and ensure that you have a good coat of latex paint for a vapour barrier.

This should probably have been your first upgrade. If it cuts your heating bill in half, which I suspect it will, it will pay for itself PDQ.

Call in local insulation contractors and ask for quotations.  Heat rises so it escapes from buildings proportional to the insulation levels indicated on national building codes.  Most through the attic, less through the walls, less again through the basement.

If you can't afford anything else, lay insulation batts in the attic.  The greatest return on investment with insulation is in the first inch installed, but a well insulated house can not be heated if you leave the door open.  You lose most heat through the one part that has no insulation.  

With high ceilings, it is easier to maintain livable temperatures by running the furnace fan continuously.  It prevents stratification and averages the temperature in the rooms.  This can be costly and irritating unless your fan can be run at slow speed. Two speed fans are usually 1/3 HP fast and 1/5 HP on slow.  Choose a two speed if possible.