Rarely use heat after air sealing/insulating?
1910duplex
| Posted in General Questions on
I thought y’all would be interested in this story about a very expensive retrofit of a semi-attached rowhouse in Brooklyn. I find it strange that they say they rarely need the heat with minisplits in that climate…
This is a link anyone can read, not just those with a NYT subscription.
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Replies
I'm not surprised, rowhouses are efficient! Mine has no insulation and the indoor balance point is around 55-60. I assume their balance point is much lower.
Most people are not like us. They probably have no idea how often their heat really runs.
"In a city with a lot of aging, inefficient structures, the townhouse shows how an older building can be preserved and upgraded for luxury and comfort, while also making it more environmentally responsible." - Shows how easy it is, just grow a money tree and pour the fruits into the building, $1500/sqft seems reasonable.
Paul, I would be less surprised if it was an interior rowhouse -- but it's only semi-attached (it's only attached on one side). I live in a 1300 sq ft semi-attached old rowhouse -- I need heat much more than a/c, and I live 200-ish miles south of them! Of course, I have no insulation in the walls, but still...
I have some friends who live in rowhouses. One of the things they tell me is that they get some "free heat" from their neighbors through the shared walls. If you have neighbors on either side of you that keep things toasty, your place might not need heat at all. The people on the ends -- the last rowhouses that have a front, back AND an exterior side wall -- would be the biggest users for heating.
DC is probably right too. People on GBA are probably much more likely to have a pretty good idea of what their HVAC system is doing than most people. People on GBA are much more likely to be paying attention to that sort of thing, since we all tend to be energy nerds here. I bet the typical GBA reader could probably answer the question "what is the R value of your exterior walls" off the top of their head with a reasonably good level of accuracy. The average homeowner would probably answer that same question with a question of their own: "What is R value?".
Bill