How To Protect Your Home Against The Effects Of Climate Change
Climate change intensifies weather conditions, which can wreak havoc on your house and jeopardize your family’s safety, wellbeing and comfort.
Photo©Andrii Tsynhariuk/123rf
The effects of climate change have advanced in the 21st century as the planet’s surface temperature continues to warm. The 2015 Paris Accords was an historic international treaty, but most countries are unlikely to hit their climate action targets. At this rate, much of the world will feel climate change’s effects sooner, rather than later, including threats to personal property.
Climate change intensifies weather conditions, which can wreak havoc on your house and jeopardize your family’s safety, wellbeing and comfort. Brutal cold, menacing heat waves, ravaging wildfires, destructive flooding, powerful storms and prolonged droughts are some of the consequences of a warmer world.
According to a new report by Moody’s assessing cities most vulnerable to climate change, San Francisco, New York City and Phoenix are most at risk of sea level rise, extreme heat and water stress. Florida tops the list of states vulnerable to the greatest physical risks, including the coastal area up to North Carolina.
99% of homes in New Orleans will be in a 100-year flood plain, according to Policygenius, the biggest predicted risk increase for any city in the United States. The city is particularly at risk for flooding, sea level rise, extreme heat and humidity, as is Memphis, Tennessee.
Poor air quality is another climate change-related issue many areas of the U.S. are facing. Los Angeles — the smoggiest city in the U.S. — is at risk of having poorer air quality whenever wildfire ignite anywhere along the West Coast, with just 15% of measured days registering as “good” quality in 2021. Houston, Texas is predicted to be the city most at risk by 2050 with extreme heat, poor air quality and flooding.
Climate change renders these cities less livable, which may lead to dwindling populations. What’s for sure is homeowner’s insurance providers won’t sit idly by; they are already raising their rates in these locations.
Tips To Make Your Home Climate-Resilient
Climate change will affect home designs in the future. Although new building standards include climate-aware modifications, most codes remain outdated. Until better home construction guidance becomes available, consider these six tips to help make your house more climate-resilient.
1. FIGHT THE COLD WITH A TIGHT BUILDING ENVELOPE. Rising temperatures in the Arctic are contributing to periods of frequent and extreme frigid weather in the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far as Texas. Your heating needs are likely to spike in any northern latitude. Sufficiently insulate your house and seal all its gaps to shield your family from extreme cold. Strengthening your house’s thermal enclosure system is a priority to help regulate your indoor temperatures with as little energy as possible.
2. OFFSET HEAT WITH CROSS VENTILATION. Climate change can bring heat waves. Unusually sultry weather for a few days can be uncomfortable — even if you’re accustomed to getting lots of sunshine.
Optimizing your house for cross ventilation can mitigate the effects of heat waves. It works best with wall openings on either side of a room. Open your windows during the coolest hours of the day to push warm air out of your house and keep indoor temperatures comfortable. Casements are the best natural ventilators among fenestration units because they make the most of the wall openings available for air circulation.
Placing a fan near the window of your property’s hottest side can cross-ventilate your space faster. Screen doors are practical air inlets and outlets, while skylights increase airflow in otherwise poorly ventilated areas.
3. INSTALL A METAL ROOF TO RESIST WILDFIRES. Non-flammable building materials can neutralize wildfire threats. The roof is the most vulnerable part of your home during a wildfire due to flying embers, so start with your roof and choose metal. Any metal roofing variety offers excellent protection against fires. Steel has a high melting point. Aluminum doesn’t spread flames. Copper doesn’t combust and emits no harmful fumes when exposed to high temperatures. Zinc can remain intact no matter how hot the environment is.
Steel and aluminum are also exceptional cooling roofing materials. They can reflect infrared radiation, helping drive down your cooling needs during the warmest months. These metals are sustainable because they last for decades and are recyclable at the end of their life span.
4. RETHINK YOUR YARD TO PREVENT FLOODING. If you can’t move to a less flood-prone area, maximizing your yard to divert rainwater away from your house is the next best thing. Your green space should slope away from your property with a grade to create a mild incline, which you can do yourself or hire a landscape professional for. Check that you have proper drainage around your property, especially if you have a paved driveway. Having native plants and new grass can also help drain rainwater from your property.
5. BRACE FOR IMPACT WITH HURRICANE WINDOWS. The building codes in some coastal regions require hurricane windows to protect against wind damage and flying debris. However, climate change has made storms stronger in various locations.
Legally required or not, weatherize your house with hurricane-resistant windows and doors. These specialized fixtures are shatterproof, cracking upon impact without turning into sharp shards of glass. They’re so effective some insurance providers offer premium discounts of up to 45% to incentivize property owners to buy them. Storm windows are long-lasting and insulating, making your home more sustainable. They also contribute to home security, noise reduction and ultraviolet light protection.
6. KEEP THINGS COOL WITH MORE PLANTS. Greenery can diminish the urban heat island effect. Masonry absorbs heat, causing urban areas significantly warmer than rural areas. Asphalt roads, concrete sidewalks, brick walls and stone structures can turn your neighborhood into a heat island.
Maintaining a lush garden can help cool your surroundings. Vegetation passively moderates the effects of heat waves through transpirational cooling. Trees provide shade, too. Plants are also carbon sinks. They trap most of the carbon dioxide they absorb, keeping this abundant greenhouse gas from reaching the atmosphere.
Rose Morrison is the managing editor of Renovated, and has been writing in the home living industry for over five years. Her work has been featured on The National Association of Realtors, the American Society of Home Inspectors and other reputable publications.
