Recognizing the need to make every building, old or new, more energy efficient, I provide analysis and strategies that apply to the specific needs of historic buildings, because the recommendations of Energy Star and other green agencies do not always fit older structures.

Using age-old, historic methods, cutting-edge technologies, and sympathetic measures, the energy efficiency of any historic building can be improved with a minimum of disturbance to its historic fabric; saving BTUs as well as historic features and materials.

An example of this is the loss of historic windows when people replace them with new windows. In almost all cases it is more cost effective to take other measures to improve the efficiency of a house. For more information on this topic, check out my article in the February 2009 issue of The Chester County Ledger, the newsletter of the Chester County Historic Preservation Network.

For more info, check out:

• Whole Building Design's article on Sustainable Historic Preservation
• US Green Building Council