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The week our furnace quit at -38 in Red Deer and the house taught me something about old builds
Two winters back, first week of January, the temp in Red Deer hit -38 with the wind. Our 1978 bi-level had the original furnace and it finally gave up on a Tuesday night around 11pm. I woke up to my kid crying because her room was cold and the thermostat said 11 degrees inside. We piled everyone into the living room and ran the gas fireplace on high, and here is the weird part, the old place held heat way better than I expected for about six hours. The walls in these older homes are thicker than I thought and the attic had been topped up with insulation by the folks who owned it before us. By morning it was 15 inside while it was -38 outside, which sounds awful but honestly it could have been way worse. Got a guy out that afternoon who swapped in a new high efficiency unit for $4,800 and he kept saying our ductwork was actually in great shape for its age. Now I keep a spare space heater in the basement and a carbon monoxide alarm on every floor. Has anyone else with a 70s build noticed their place holds heat better than newer ones, or am I just making myself feel better about the money?
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grace41917d ago
Man, my buddy had almost the same thing happen in his 1976 house over in Lacombe, furnace died during that cold snap and his place sat at 16 inside while it was -35 out. His installer told him the same thing, those old places were framed tight with real lumber so they just hold heat different than the new builds with thin walls. So no, you are not just telling yourself that to feel better about the bill, that trapped heat is the real deal.
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