Historic 'Green' Architecture

With green energy and sustainable living all the rage, sometimes it's hard to imagine how these trends apply here in Galveston where an estimated two-thirds of the Island's buildings are historic.  But living "green," conserving energy, and having a healthy and historic home is totally possible.  In fact historic homes have many sustainable features already built into their design! 

To illustrate that energy efficient and healthy historic homes are possible and affordable, the Galveston Historical Foundation embarked on its Green Revival project in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the 1772 Foundation.  Back in February, GHF moved a small Ike-damaged cottage across town to its new home at 3101 Avenue Q.  This project is transforming an Ike-damaged 19th-century cottage into a public show house that conforms to the highest national standards of the "green" building movement.  Specifically, this project will "demonstrate how the energy efficient properties inherent in historic design and original fabric can work in tandem with sensitively planned modern systems to conserve resources as well as heritage."

As an owner of an Island home built circa 1870 (that the Mr. and I are still working on), we've tried to be diligent in our renovation to maintain the historic integrity of our cottage but also figure out ways to maximize our energy efficiency.  For example, we knew that removing our original 140 year old windows would severely damage our home's aesthetic and was far too costly.  After some research and visiting GHF's Preservation Resources Center, we found out that various affordable options are available.

While specifics may differ for each building, we had issues with heat gain and air infiltration.  Options to combat these problems include exterior or interior shutters and transparent films (not tinted) that line the glass panes to reduce heat gain and block up to 90% of infrared heat.  Did you know that compared to the performance of brand new energy efficient windows on the market today, historic windows with basic weather stripping and treated with a heat gain film can match the efficiency of a new window and preserve the look and the integrity of your historic home?  And of course the best piece of news - this is much cheaper than new windows!

Overall, now is a great time to take advantage of Galveston's gorgeous spring to tackle some of these projects on your home here on the Island.  Even better:  the Green Revival home will be open this month where you can find out even more ways to improve the health and efficiency of your historic home!

The project's unveiling will be at this year's GHF 36^th Annual Homes Tour held the first two weekends in May.  Once the renovation is complete, the house will be opened to the public again this summer for various educational opportunities.  For more information on GHF and the Green Revival Project, visit www.galvestonhistory.org.  For more information on Islander By Choice, visit www.ibcgalveston.com