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I agree with bigjon, replacing windows with GOOD quality energy efficient windows is a great place to start. Also there were tax credits for this in 2006, I don't know if they are still available.
We live in an historic house and it was really biting the bullet for me to replace the original windows with new ones, but I had spent a small fortune on trying to have the original ones restored. There are really nice attractive energy efficient windows that are available, but since we were replacing EVERY window in our home, we stuck with practical rather than fancy replacement windows to stay within budget because the installation added considerably to the cost.
Someone posted the idea of a wood burning stove and I think that's a great option as well, in fact we plan on adding one as soon as our budget allows. We live in an area where power lines are still on poles and we do occasionally have power outages so I want to have some back up.
The most efficient way is to pull the air off the cathedral ceiling with a cold air return.
This is a chaise made from the existing wall studs and finished off with a cold air return grill about 8" from the ceiling.
Most new builds are using 22' wall studs in various walls and this is accessed from the basement or crawl space. At floor level after a suitable wall cavity is found, a hole is cut into the bottom of the floor plate and through the sub-floor. This hole 31/2" X 14 1/2" is fitted with a metal L Boot and attached to the Cold Air return in the basement or crawl space. Two or more may be needed if the living area is huge...not really a lot of work, but definitely for the professional HVAC mechanic or carpenter...
I've been told heat conservation in vaulted ceilings can be rectified with reverse doorway fans, forcing cold air out. The trick is to extract the cold air into main areas while heat generates in the bedrooms. Pellet and wood stove owners can play with this tactic forcing hot air into hallway/bedroom area.
Our family room has a huge ceiling since the upstairs hallway has a banister that overlooks the entire length of the hall over the living room. I find that keeping the doors closed upstairs in rooms we don't use works good to keep the heat from escaping. I'm also putting a cover over the AC return at the top of the stairs and we run our ceiling fan in the room on low.
My next mission is the bathroom which never quite warms up enough, installing a heater fan in there because the vent fan at the top is a good 15' up.
Our Family room has vaulted ceilings and sure enough we are freezing in this room all day and night this winter. The house is 7ish years old and our first year in the house. We have the heater on and it feels like the downstairs heater in constantly running since the other rooms in the downstairs that share the heater for this living room are nice and warm. (None of these other rooms have vaulted ceiling). Also the family room in in the middle of the downstairs floor plan and has tall windows facing the yard (East) which is not helping us keep the room warm. Any suggestions?
Also we are sure the heat is working in the room since the hallway upstairs right above this room is nice and warm and toasty - thanks to all the hot air that has risen up.
lachu_vinu!
My present and last home had cathedral ceilings. Cooling is our main issue. I have found it easy to control with ceiling fans that are 10 or so feet off the ground. Do remember to reverse the fan direction depending on heating or cooling season.
Do remember to reverse the fan direction depending on heating or cooling season.
This method of fan reversal works well under flat roof - single room conditions, hence potential hot air escaping in adjoining rooms, next to or above main area. (lofts, open kitchen, etc..) I usually set fan to low pushing down hot air instead of pulling hot air up…then down again.
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