You love everything about your historic home. Well, almost everything.
The love you have for your home may be strong, but even the most charming older house can test your patience during a hot Portland summer. Maybe your upstairs bedrooms feel like a toaster oven, your downstairs stays oddly cool, or your current “cooling system” is just a collection of fans doing their best.
You should not have to brace yourself for a giant electric bill and still feel like your home is holding on to heat as much as it holds on to its character. There are air-conditioning options designed to solve this problem, helping you enjoy your charming home year-round
In this guide, we’ll walk through the challenges that make older homes harder to cool, AC systems that may work well in houses without traditional ductwork, and how to choose an option that improves comfort without compromising the features that made you fall in love with your home in the first place.
Table of Contents
- Can You Put Central Air in an Old House?
- 2 Common Air Conditioning Challenges for Old Houses
- What Is the Best HVAC System for an Old House?
- How To Choose the Right Cooling System for Your Older Home
- Explore Air Conditioning Options for Old Houses With the Help of AAA Heating & Cooling
Can You Put Central Air in an Old House?
The short answer is yes, you can add air conditioning to an old house, even if the home was built long before central AC became common.
You’ll find that many of Portland’s popular historic homes have retrofitted cooling systems. While the installation of an HVAC system is possible, it will take an HVAC expert’s ingenuity and creativity to complete the complex project with minimal alterations to the home’s appearance.
Older homes often come with quirks that newer homes do not have: plaster walls, limited attic or crawl space, uneven insulation, original woodwork, older electrical systems, and little to no ductwork. In other words, your house has character, and that character may need a thoughtful AC plan.
AAA Heating & Cooling, your trusted Portland air-conditioning company, has been providing HVAC expertise to homeowners for decades. As one of the oldest HVAC providers in the area, we have a great wealth of knowledge and experience serving older homes. Explore your air conditioning options for an old house with us today.
The Importance of Retrofitting HVAC Systems
Retrofitting HVAC systems means updating or adding heating and cooling equipment to a home that was not originally built for modern comfort systems. In an old house, this often means finding ways to add air conditioning without major structural changes, unnecessary demolition, or damage to the home’s original character.
Your home may be in need of a new or upgraded cooling system if you are experiencing one of the following:
- Your current air conditioner is outdated, unreliable, or inefficient.
- Your energy bills are out of control.
- You are continually having your current system repaired.
- Your building has developed an indoor air quality problem.
- Your home’s current heating and cooling capacity makes it uncomfortable.
- Certain rooms are much warmer than others.
- You rely on window units that are noisy, inefficient, or block natural light.
- Your home has no ductwork, and you are not sure where to begin.
Modernity has graced homeowners with superior cooling solutions for maximum efficiency and energy savings, so why should homeowners of non-modern homes miss out?
Adding the right air conditioning system to an old house can offer several benefits, including:
- Improved energy efficiency: By upgrading or retrofitting your home’s AC system, you can invest in newer models that enhance your energy efficiency and promote energy savings. Many newer units may have higher Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) ratings, which can help your system cool your home more efficiently than outdated equipment.
- Enhanced indoor air quality: A cooling upgrade may also support better indoor air quality when paired with appropriate filtration, ventilation, humidity control, or duct cleaning. This can be especially helpful in older homes where dust, pollen, and aging ductwork may affect comfort.
- Optimized comfort levels: Modern air conditioning systems allow you to accurately and efficiently control the temperature, humidity, and air distribution. By choosing the right cooling system, you can provide your historic home with a heating and cooling solution that preserves its structure while increasing your comfort.
- Increased property value: A thoughtfully installed AC system may also make an older home more appealing to future buyers, especially in areas where summer temperatures may be rising.
2 Common Air Conditioning Challenges for Old Houses
#1: Lack of or Non-Existent Ductwork
While duct cooling systems are today’s modern standard, many older homes were built before central air conditioning became an expectation. Before this, homes were generally heated with wood fireplaces and radiators, and home cooling options were often limited to open windows and fans.
For this reason, many historic homes have limited or non-existent ductwork, and existing ductwork may not even be the right size. Some homeowners may suffer through uncomfortable indoor conditions because they are afraid that all air conditioning options for old houses involve gutting their homes to install ductwork. However, there are plenty of AC options that do not involve adding ductwork or only need a small amount.
This is where options like ductless mini-splits, high-velocity systems, and heat pumps can become especially helpful. They allow homeowners to improve comfort without forcing a one-size-fits-all central AC system into a house that was never designed for it.
Keep in mind that a new AC system may also change your home’s environment. You may need to monitor ambient conditions frequently to determine if the cooling system creates conditions that promote the cracking of wood or finishes, metal corrosion, rot, paint blistering, or other problems.
#2: Limited Space
Often, older homes lack the space to accommodate ductwork without lowering ceilings. This could potentially raise the costs of your new AC installation and require more invasive construction procedures. HVAC experts may also need to strip interior finishes or exterior cladding to install insulation and vapor barriers.
The location of registers, grilles, and other AC equipment requires thoughtful placement to preserve historic finishes and features. Your installation technicians will need to know how to work with limited space to successfully install a new air conditioning system for your historic home.
Remember that you may need to follow municipality limitations regarding alterations if you wish to maintain the home’s historic status.
What Is the Best HVAC System for an Old House?
The best HVAC option for old houses is one that:
- Fits your home’s infrastructure while preserving its integrity.
- Meets your energy and installation budget.
- Cools the rooms you use most without unnecessary disruption.
- Works with your existing ductwork, or lack of ductwork.
- Accounts for your home’s insulation, layout, windows, electrical capacity, and historic details.
There is not one universal “best” AC system for every old house. A ductless mini-split may be ideal for one home, while a high-velocity system, heat pump, or carefully designed central AC system may be better for another. The right choice depends on the structure, comfort goals, budget, and amount of modification the home can reasonably handle.
You’ll also want experienced professionals to handle the installation. AAA Heating & Cooling has been working with homeowners of new and old houses since 1961.
We are a family company dedicated to preserving the health, safety, and beauty of the historic homes and buildings of Portland. If you’re ready to update your air conditioning system but don’t know where to start, take the first step by giving us a call today.
4 Air Conditioning Options for Old Houses
Several different HVAC systems could work for your older home. Having an idea of how each of these systems is built, what components they include, and how effective they are at conditioning certain spaces can all play a part in which solution you choose for your historic housing.
#1: Mini-Split System
Mini-split systems are similar to furnace and air conditioner combinations in that they have indoor and outdoor units.
This type of system, however, doesn’t require traditional ductwork, so you can condition the air in rooms that can’t accommodate ductwork. Installing mini-split systems is simpler than traditional systems, is minimally invasive, and allows for targeted zoning, so you can control the conditions in different areas of the home.
#2: High-Velocity AC System
A high-velocity air conditioner is great for older homes that don’t have existing ductwork.
This type of system uses small tubes that a professional installs through and around existing construction, such as closets, above ceilings, and in crawl spaces. This solution requires little retrofitting, and the registers are unobtrusive.
#3: Heat Pumps
A heat pump can be a smart option for old houses because it provides both cooling and heating in one system. In cooling mode, it works much like an air conditioner by moving heat out of your home. In heating mode, it reverses the process and helps warm the home.
This can be especially useful in Portland-area homes where homeowners want efficient year-round comfort without turning the house into a construction zone. Your home has survived decades. It does not need to be startled by unnecessary demolition.
#4: Central Air Conditioning System
If a historic home has considerable attic space and a basement or crawl space, a central air conditioning system with floor or ceiling registers in each room might be appropriate.
Central air conditioners circulate air through a series of ducts. This makes them more efficient than in-room air conditioners while keeping the main units out of the way.
Before choosing central AC, an HVAC professional should evaluate whether the existing ductwork is properly sized, sealed, and positioned for cooling. Ducts that were designed mainly for heating may not distribute cool air as effectively, especially in multi-story older homes. Get in touch with the experts at AAA Heating & Cooling to get the process started!
How To Choose the Right Cooling System for Your Older Home
Choosing between air conditioning options for old houses is not just about picking the newest unit or the biggest system. Bigger is not always better. Before recommending an option, an HVAC professional should consider:
- Whether your home has existing ductwork
- The condition and size of any current ducts
- The home’s square footage and layout
- Ceiling height, attic space, basement space, and crawl space
- Insulation levels
- Window age and sun exposure
- Electrical capacity
- Rooms that are consistently too warm
- Historic features that should be preserved
- Your budget and long-term energy goals
The best answer comes from looking at the house as a whole, not just the thermostat on the wall.
Explore Air Condition Options for Old Houses With the Help of AAA Heating & Cooling
AAA Heating & Cooling has been helping residents heat and cool their homes since 1961, so we’re familiar with the many types of older homes in this area.
The Portland community is home to so many beautiful, historic buildings. It is our mission to preserve the historic, aesthetic, and structural integrity of each while providing homeowners with an efficient air conditioning solution that actually fits the home.
We have proudly installed over 30,000 residential and commercial HVAC systems in homes and commercial buildings throughout the Portland area, including:
- Air conditioners
- Furnaces
- Heat pumps
- Ductwork
- Control systems
- Water heaters
- Renewable energy units
In addition to installing and maintaining a multitude of HVAC systems, we have cleaned the ducts of over 50,000 homes and installed over 600 air monitors. We also offer a Gold Bond Lifetime Warranty on all commercial and residential installations.
With our services, your historic home is in good hands. You don’t have to sacrifice the comfort of your home to protect its history. Schedule an appointment with AAA Heating and Cooling today.