Your home will be battered by the weather caused by climate change. The harsher climate can put a strain on any house. It is even worse when it is older and built when the weather was milder. But you can do something about it. There are several upgrades and changes that can make your place be able to stand off the effects of climate change better. Here is a closer look at some of them.
Reinforcing The Roof
One of the more important places where you need to upgrade is the roof. Whether it is the hot rays of the sun or the freezing damage of winter, damage to it can mean that a house’s occupants are not going to have a pleasant time. Climate change makes it even more important as the weather is harsher. Fortunately, several roofing upgrades can help. A simple change would be some low-maintenance gutters. In the past, you had to clean your gutters regularly, but newly-designed gutters prevent all the clogging dirt from coming in completely. Other potential upgrades are better shingles that are more durable and energy-efficient to improved ventilation so that the attic doesn’t become an oven during the hotter months.
Ready For Colder Winters
People have experienced a taste of the colder winters in the past few years. This will only get worse as the climates around the world shift. You’ll need to prepare for that in several ways. The most obvious one is to contact your local furnace company and get an upgrade of your current furnace. A stronger and more up-to-date one should be able to handle the colder temperatures. But that is not all that you should be doing. Investing in insulation, if you have not done so, is essential. Completely insulate parts of your home so that the heat inside of your house will stay there. An important part that you should not forget is your plumbing. Insulated pipes or heated ones ensure that they won’t burst because of the colder weather.
Keeping Cool During Summer
The summers will also be a lot hotter. While this is not as bad as winter’s cold, it can still be very uncomfortable. Additionally, the risk of heatstroke is pretty high. The insulation you put in for the winter months should be just as effective as keeping the heat out. While that helps a lot, it can still get pretty hot. This is where your various cooling options come in. Air conditioning is popular and very effective, but it can get expensive. Combine it with some excellent ventilation, and you should be able to handle the heat.
Preventing Water From Coming In
Another problem that can come up is the danger of storms and flooding. Waterproofing your home is going to be an effective way to ensure that your belongings don’t get damaged or you have to pay for water damage repair. While a lot of tips to deal with flooding are meant for when constructing the home, there are several later additions you can do. A notable improvement would be to improve the drainage around your house. A lot of flooding is because the area around your home retains water, and it accumulates faster than it can go away. Digging drainage ditches and canals can help. An interesting approach would be to install an underwater cistern that will drain away from the water for later use. You can also invest in a water garden. This uses plants and creative landscaping to ensure flooding won’t happen.
Increasing Water Efficiency
Climate change swings from two extremes a lot. While it can cause flooding in some parts of the year, it can also cause a water shortage in some periods. If you want to avoid water problems during them, you should upgrade your home to be more water-efficient. For example, you can change out all your faucets and shower-heads to low-flow versions. Depending on the number of replaced items, you can save hundreds of liters of water a day. That can add up, and there will be noticeable effects. You can also install a water storage tank for your home so that you have emergency water when necessary.
Bringing a house to climate change standards is a challenge. For one, the expense can be intimidating. But if your house has sentimental value, you’ll undertake the effort. Additionally, all the changes mean that the house has increased in value. That is a big bonus for many homeowners. Think about what upgrades you can do now to properly protect your home from climate changes.
Meta title: Climate Change Upgrades: Improvements That Will Soon Pay Off
meta desc: When you own a home, you should be seriously interested in how you can make it be able to weather the changes in our climate. They may seem expensive but they can be worth it in the long run.
