High-Performance Building in Extreme Climates
How climate affects building performance
British Columbia is one of the most climatically diverse regions in Canada. It’s also one of the leading provinces to adopt a step-code approach with progressive sustainability measures. High performance building systems really have an impact in places that experience these drastic temperatures, because a “high performing” building is essentially one that provides a stable, healthy indoor environment. This is inherently challenging to do when a region experiences one extreme of hot or cold to the other.
Since the majority of the province experiences proper seasons ranging from hot/dry summer to wet/cold winters, buildings need to accommodate for this by using efficient temperature control systems to maintain comfort and avoid any health risks. This is mostly dependent on how the quality of the air is controlled through HVAC systems, building materials, assembly, wall performance, and passive design techniques.
Hot & dry climates
When designing homes for extreme heat conditions, particularly in the Okanagan over the hot summer months, the goal is typically to keep occupants cool enough to avoid health risks and maintain a consistent comfort level. Some of the characteristics of a “hot/dry” climate include summers having temperatures varying between 25 and 40 degrees celsius during the daytime, and overnight temperatures between 15 and 20. There is also significantly lower precipitation, which makes the air less humid than in more temperate climates.
In the Okanagan, wildfires are also a major risk to the region, which may also influence several design decisions when it comes to fire preventative measures for a new home. This could include heavily considering the fire rating of the assembly of your home, as well as using non-combustible materials and plantings around the perimeter of your home.
Alpine climates
While there are few fully habitable alpine climatic regions in BC, there are some subzones around the Coast Mountains in BC, including the Pacific Ranges, the Kitimat Ranges and the Boundary Ranges, which are defined by their climatic characteristics. High elevation climates are typically characterized by their heavy snowfalls, and cold/wet/windy summer seasons. They can experience rapid weather patterns such as heavy precipitation, strong winds, avalanches, wildfires, and heat domes. Buildings in high elevation areas are often characterized by having highly insulated walls and roof, steep pitches for water run off, and more consideration for siting the building directly into bedrock.
Living anywhere surrounded by mostly untouched wilderness always comes with a cost. The cost and assembly of construction materials in these regions makes building in more remote areas just not seem reasonable. Depending on where you live, this might not always be the case. We’d just recommend working with a builder that knows the areas and is aware of any particular code measures, such as roof slopes and thermal bridging requirements.
Minimizing heat again
In both cold/wet and hot/dry climates, one of the biggest factors for reducing heat gain in the summer is to reduce the amount of thermal bridging a building experiences. Thermal bridging occurs when a building has a direct connection with the outside and inside with a piece of a whole material. This can cause heat loss or gain in a building, which can lead to air control systems working overtime.
One of the benefits of using a system like SIPs is that their panelized assembly allows for a consistent, equal distribution of insulation and an airtight panel-to-panel seal that reduces the risk of thermal bridging. Their average R-value is also higher than the average 2X6 framed wall, which leads to up to 60% more efficiency when it comes to overall heating and cooling of a building.
Durable in most extremes
One of the most important considerations in building in a weather-extreme environment is that your structure is built to last. In this day and age of rapid climate change and more stringent code regulations, building with high performance systems isn’t even a question, but a necessity now. High performance panels like SIPs allow for you to meet these measures, while also being practical enough to save on transportation and long term operational costs in remote access areas.
- South Okanagan Real Estate Board. (2019). Building Climate Resilience in the Okanagan: A Homeowner’s Resource Guide.
https://www.interiorrealtors.ca/files/BuildingClimateResilience.pdf
By opting for SIPs, you can achieve savings, efficiency, and a sustainable building solution. Ready to start saving? Contact us today.