When you future-proof your building, you optimize the investments made in building improvements with consideration for the affects of change. Here we share tips on future-proofing your building for the next 20 years to help keep it energy efficient, structurally sound, and competitive.
Assess negative impacts
An assessment, as part of future-proofing, considers the physical, environmental, and economic life-cycle changes likely to impact your building. The areas to prioritize in your assessment include:
- Energy efficiency
- Sustainable materials
- Material durability
- Long-term maintenance
- Future adaptability
- Material recyclability
By identifying these areas prior to designs or upgrades, you can effectively reduce the likelihood of change negatively impacting your decisions.
Maximize energy efficient upgrades
Future-proofing maximizes energy efficiency to improve energy security as demand continues to rise. This includes looking at current energy infrastructure and finding new ways to reduce energy consumption.
Some examples might include:
- Daylighting: Can you install more windows, skylights, and other light-admitting features such as interior glass walls to prioritize natural sunlight over artificial lighting?
- Solar shading: Can you reduce solar heating effects using solar shading devices to block solar heat gain?
- Passive ventilation: Can you leverage passive ventilation to efficiently move air throughout a space?
- Passive solar design. Can you design walls, floors, and windows to harness heat in the summer for use in the winter?
- Renewable energy: How can you generate energy to combat rising costs of electricity and shortages, i.e. installing solar/photovoltaic panels?
Create airtight envelopes
Airtight construction and air-sealing prevents energy waste. By simply adopting common building envelop best practices, you can improve energy efficiency while helping reduce the risk of envelope damage.
Common practices include:
- Using high-quality weather-stripping
- Maintaining caulking in vulnerable areas such as around windows
- Using liquid flashing membranes
- Using joint and seam fillers
- Installing air and water-resistant barriers
- Upgrading to stainless steel fabric flashing
- Considering prefabrication technology to leverage advancements such as seamless joinery
Reduce heat transfer
Reducing heat transfer between walls, floors, the roof, etc. improves interior temperatures. Introducing “superinsulation” using effective layering and advanced materials to reduce demand on mechanical heating is an important partner to airtight envelopes.
However, green infrastructure is also important to help reduce heat transfer in the community including green roofs, walls, and rain gardens. These features reduce the heat island effect and risk of flooding, while improving biodiversity and air quality in urban centres.
Improve weather resilience
Climate catastrophes most likely to impact GTA buildings include heat waves, storms, and flooding. Therefore, future-proof buildings must include safeguards to protect against projected climate disasters.
For example, installing solar-reflective surfaces can prevent solar energy absorption in extreme heat. Another example is improvements to building stormwater collection/management systems to reduce the risk of basement and underground garage flooding.
Choose durable materials
Choosing durable materials that wear at slower rates decrease costs for replacement while helping maintain the integrity of the building envelope. Smarter choices include:
- Brick
- Stone
- Concrete
- Steel
- New classes of engineered wood products
These upgrades also help keep your building competitive, creating an appealing aesthetic and improving unit comfort to attract high-value tenants.
The key to future-proofing your building is understanding the increasing threats that impact building performance. These ideas will allow your building to strengthen with change, so it is still functional, energy efficient, and profitable in 20 years.
Working with a building envelope specialist like the team at WellDone Inc., a building restoration company specializing in building improvements for commercial and multi-unit residential buildings throughout the GTA, offers the expertise you need to future-proof your building.