Conserving Energy in Historic County Courthouses

Hill, Gerri

From the introduction: "In an era of escalating energy costs, dwindling energy supplies and new thermal-efficiency demands places on existing buildings, counties are anxious to conserve energy and save taxpayer money. In many counties, the courthouse remains the focal point of daily government business, and is one of the largest items in the county energy budget. However, a retrofit of or weatherizing the courthouse for energy conservation may be delayed because of the fear of unduly altering the building's historic character. This booklet, prepared by the Energy Project of the National Association of Counties Research, Inc. (NACoR), provides county building managers with techniques to improve thermal efficiency in the four major energy-consuming systems of the historic courthouse: heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and lighting. Many building managers are unaware of the inherent energy-saving characteristics of most historic courthouses. These are identified in this booklet, along with conservation, solar energy, weatherization, and retrofit techniques. While some well-known weatherization and retrofit measures are highly recommended for historic courthouses, others are less beneficial and can result in the inappropriate of important architectural features, or even worse, cause serious damage to the courthouse's historic building materials. These measures are also discussed. We recommended that building managers of historic courthouses read this booklet prior to initiating energy-conservation measures, and seek advice from professional consultants before applying any of these measures. Case studies of four counties that have curbed excessive energy use in their historic courthouses are presented. Their experiences illustrate that energy costs can be reduced in historic buildings without sacrificing the building's character."

Conserving Energy in Historic County Courthouses

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