This Cold House

A "witty, erudite, and accessible" guide to creating an environmentally friendly home without sacrificing comfort (Jeffrey C. May, author of My House Is Killing Me!).

Does turning the thermostat down on a winter's night offset the costs of reheating the house in the morning? What will best prevent energy loss: new windows or insulation in the attic? Is heating oil cheaper than natural gas?


In This Cold House, Colin Smith blends science with anecdote and example to help homeowners identify heating and cooling priorities and choose the most appropriate methods, tools, and equipment. Basic equations allow you to estimate possible savings in annual heating and cooling bills and determine payback times for improvement projects.


Practical and entertaining, This Cold House illuminates the concepts behind energy efficiency and translates them into ideas you can use, whether you live in a castle, igloo, or house.

"Packs in important insights and is a pick for any general interest lending library catering to homeowners and those concerned with energy savings and the environment." —Midwest Book Review
"Smith . . . has a wonderful way with words, and his storytelling is superb. This guy sure knows how to hang an analogy on a scientific principle to make it delightfully understandable." —Dan Holohan, heatinghelp.com