Historic, Energy-Efficient Home? It Can Happen

Maria Sonnenberg

Historic homes and energy efficiency are not your typical combination, but William and Betty Young have proven that it is possible to enjoy a vintage residence that is not an energy hog.

William Young with his utility grid tied system secure power option, in the background ( the black box) is his stand alone inverter system. William Young, retired research engineer who worked at the Florida Solar Energy Center for 22 years specializing in emergency power, is walking the walk. His Titusville home has numerous solar power systems, on and off the grid, has two hybrid cars that are charged by his solar power system and a VW bus that has solar power for its RV accessories. He is also president of the Florida chapter of FREA - Florida Renewable energy association.

The Titusville couple’s 1903 two-story Victorian with its enticing second story balcony sits two blocks from city hall and has been showcased in several home tours. Originally, it had no insulation, much less heating or air conditioning. Betty purchased the 1,400-square-foot residence in 1996, long before she met Bill, whom she married in 2003.

“Betty chose Titusville after deciding to leave Orlando for a smaller community,” Bill said. “She had noticed the house in previous trips to the area, but was convinced when her daughter remarked, ‘Mom, this is a house I can bring your future grandchildren to.’”

Bill himself was no stranger to the house. He arrived in Titusville in 1958, following his father who worked at the Space Center, and learned his ABCs at the school that was once on the site of City Hall. Young jokes he had looked at buying the house in the mid-90s and married Betty specifically so he could live there.

With Bill’s arrival on the scene the transformation of the house from inefficiency to efficiency began in earnest, for Young arrived with solar system in hand.

William Young, retired research engineer who worked at the Florida Solar Energy Center for 22 years specializing in emergency power, is walking the walk. His Titusville home has numerous solar power systems, on and off the grid, has two hybrid cars that are charged by his solar power system and a VW bus that has solar power for its RV accessories. He is also president of the Florida chapter of FREA - Florida Renewable energy association. His utlity grid tied system secure power option on the side of the house.

“I had a solar system installed in 1990 in my previous house, so I brought my solar with me when I moved in,” he said.

Twenty-two years working with photovoltaic systems at the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa prepared him to tackle the energy issues he found in Betty’s treasured home. To the original relocated system, he added two more, including a photovoltaic power grid-tied system that works whenever the power grid is down, a feature particularly useful after hurricanes.

“You just have to flick a switch and you have power,” he said.

The Young’s electric bills run as low as $29 a month.

The house’s solar charms don’t stop there either. For Young also installed a solar thermal residential hot water system with a photovoltaic module to power the flow on the house’s pump even during power outages.

Additionally, the home boasts a portable stand-alone photovoltaic generator, solar attic fan, two highly energy-efficient air conditioning units to address the cooling needs of each of the home’s two floors, energy-efficient appliances and solar skylights to take better advantage of the sun.

William Young has a sign in front of the house from the solar tour last fall, his home was one of the houses on the tour. William Young, retired research engineer who worked at the Florida Solar Energy Center for 22 years specializing in emergency power, is walking the walk. His Titusville home has numerous solar power systems, on and off the grid, has two hybrid cars that are charged by his solar power system and a VW bus that has solar power for its RV accessories. He is also president of the Florida chapter of FREA - Florida Renewable energy association.

“We were getting ready to retire and we wanted to make the electric bill as low as we could,” he said. “I think every retiree should do this before they retire and they’re still making money to pay for these changes.”

Young’s house may well be the only historic structure around boasting electric car chargers. Young’s Volt and Prius can just plug in and recharge in the comfort of home. An avid electric car fan, at one point in his life Young owned 15 of these energy-miserly vehicles.

Retrofitting an old house to accommodate solar systems requires the ability to walk a thin line within the requirements of local historic preservation boards. In Young’s case, he solved the tricky issue of unsightly solar panels on the roof by effectively hiding them.

“When it was time to replace the roof, we installed a roof of historic metal panels in the front to match other old roof in the county and a standing seam metal roof in the back so the solar panels could clip to the roof without needing to make any holes,” he said.

Now retired, Young keeps continually tweaking the home to enhance its energy efficiency. He notes the use of solar energy in old houses may seem unique, but is not a new concept.

The top solar panels are tied into the grid, the large middle panel is the solar hot water heater powered by a solar pump, and the two smaller panels on each side go to the stand alone battery pack. William Young, retired research engineer who worked at the Florida Solar Energy Center for 22 years specializing in emergency power, is walking the walk. His Titusville home has numerous solar power systems, on and off the grid, has two hybrid cars that are charged by his solar power system and a VW bus that has solar power for its RV accessories. He is also president of the Florida chapter of FREA - Florida Renewable energy association.

“Down the street is an old house I have a picture of that had solar hot water, installed in the early 1900s,” he said. “A factory in Coral Gables used to produce these systems as far back as the 1890s. The use of solar energy is not new. 2,500 years ago, Socrates wrote a book on how to solar power a home.”

The Young house has become a poster residence for the possibilities of retroffiting historical structures with energy-saving features and is an annual showcase home in the Florida Renewable Energy Association’s annual statewide home tour of solar homes.

Through the years, the house has performed admirably for the couple, and not just regarding energy efficiency.

“We are happy to report the existence of several grandchildren who love the old home as much as we do,” Young said.