The furnace and air conditioner aren’t required to work as hard or run as often
Buying an old house presents some challenges. While we appreciate the hardwood floors, doors and moldings, there are drawbacks. The house is very difficult to heat and cool. Our local temperature swings from the negative digits into the high eighties. We deal with brutal wind chills as well as excessive humidity. Although I love the large windows that allow light into the home, they are a source of drafts and energy losses. When we first moved in, the windows were original to the house. It was easy to feel the cold air wafting in during the winter. The furnace would run constantly and yet various rooms felt overly chilly. I tried putting plastic over the windows and placing rolled up towels on the sill to minimize the influx of outside air. It helped a little. In the summer, we had issues with dust, bugs and pollen and I blamed the outdated windows. Replacing the windows was an expensive and gradual project. We couldn’t afford to buy all new and have them installed. Instead, we purchased a couple of windows every few months. My husband and I learned how to install them ourselves. We were very conscientious about properly insulating and caulking around them. Because we chose low E, thermal pane, Energy Star rated windows, they were especially costly yet more energy efficient. While it has taken a while to replace the abundance of windows, we are enjoying the results. The house stays cleaner and we are able to maintain a more consistent temperature. The furnace and air conditioner aren’t required to work as hard or run as often. Our utility bills are quite a bit lower. Those savings will help to recover the investment into so many new windows.