Keeping the Heat in an Old House

A Technical Advice Paper by Denis Meehan

A lot of damage is done to Victorian houses in the name of energy conservation, most frequently by replacing original sash windows with inappropriate double-glazed units. As Denis Meehan explains in his report on Energy Conservation in a Victorian House, changing the windows is one of the last things you need to do.

He should know. He owns a Victorian terraced house in London, he installs central heating systems in other similar houses and, having read Engineering at Durham University, he knows how to calculate his U-values. As well as setting out the ways in which you can avoid unnecessary heat loss, he also tells you the benefits to be gained from installing solar panels, heat pumps, heat stores, combined heat and power, heat recovery and other energy-saving devices. This is a sophisticated appraisal of the latest technology available to the householder in an age of rising energy costs.

To download and read your report, Energy Conservation in a Victorian House, please click energy-conservation-2011.

We published The Victorian House Book to show how you can modernize an old house without compromising its architectural integrity. Denis Meehan’s report is intended to supplement the Technical Advice section at the back of the book.