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Wildfires, floods, heat waves, droughts and sea level rise throughout the globe are raging on our screens. But here in Connecticut, there seems to be less extreme weather. We have even had a decade of reprieve from hurricanes coming north.
But we all know things will change. The distant threats of an angry environment endanger our homes. Those of us living in our homes know that they are our biggest liability and asset. We owe money that we do not have to own the physical thing most of us care most about: our homes. Homes will feel the full brunt of the earth’s environmental shift, if not now, then later. Unlike the disaster areas we see around us, we have the luxury of a little time to prepare for change. In the marketing parlance of the architecture word “resilience” has been a buzzword for over a decade, as storms, fires and temperature swings loom.
It is a good time to address new questions. Are photovoltaic solar panels on our roofs a danger in the coming extreme weather? Will low and flat pitched roofs that cope with today’s weather fail in the extreme wet and windy weather ahead. Do homes with no or tiny eaves projecting and protecting off their walls be more severely damaged in the coming storms? Here are the places your home might need to address: Temperature change
Traditionally, we have simply air-conditioned our homes in hot weather. But it is time to assess more options. The vast majority of heat loss and much of heat gain comes from the insulation over the top of your home. Why not investigate foam insulating your home’s ceiling first — and then see if AC is the answer.
Similarly, most home windows are set for the exterior “look” of the traditional “Colonial” or Ranch orthodoxies of “style.” That means ventilation is a happy coincidence, not a design criterion. Think about how windows on exterior doors can be located to allow air to pass through your rooms, cooling your skin in a time of rising temperatures.
More radically, where your home sits in relation to the arc of the sun can create a lot of unwanted heat in the summer and lose heat in the winter — unless you consider eaves. Those extensions of your roof can create shade in the summer and still be open to the sun in the winter when solar heat is desired. Severe weather
If we are to get more rain, more wind, even the danger of brush fires, the way your home addresses the natural elements is a baseline priority. The material of your roofing can have more fire and wind resistance than the standard here in New England, at a very modest cost. When you look to replace your roofing, ask about the roof’s fire rating and wind resistance.
If drought is in our future, collecting rainwater, even our own non-septic waste water (called “grey water”) has been done in the West to allow that water to be reused. When you contemplate plumbing work, ask about how rainwater could be stored, and the water created by our sinks, showers, and clothes washers can be kept separate from our toilets’ waste and how it could be reused to water a parched landscape. Conversely, all the rainfall from these storms can overwhelm any basement, so think about a dewatering system.
If hurricanes are going to be more frequent, stronger and more drenching, the strength of any older home’s structure, its wind resistance, even its glass, may want an upgrade. It would be crazy to restructure a viable home, but it may be prudent to think about “hurricane” or wind-resistant glass if you are planning on new windows.
If you are thinking about making new openings, or doors and windows in your homes, think about maintaining or increasing the home’s stiffness in the wind by hiring an engineer to analyze how what you do can make the home more resistant to the wind. Sea level rise
There has been a rise in the sea level and a concomitant rise in the water table. The trend will continue. Any place that is now damp will get wetter. If you have wetlands near your home you may need to consider how high the groundwater will come to your floor level in the out years. It may be nuts to raise an entire house if you’re inland or have never seen standing water, but it’s not crazy to think that homes near any water (the Sound, a lake, river or wetlands) may have the water level of those places get higher and damage your home or site.
Rather than just think of how you use your home, or how it looks, it is time to widen your perspective to think about how climate will impact it. It is not enough to buy a generator, or weatherstrip your doors and windows. The fabric of your home - its roof, its basement, how it can be affected by wind, fire and water should be part of how you adapt your home to the world around you.