Surviving the heat wave
Jul. 23/21
Change for Climate is a climate change initiative from the City of Edmonton.
Jul. 23/21
Change for Climate is a climate change initiative from the City of Edmonton.
Alberta is recovering from the worst extreme heat wave that has ever struck the province. Environment Canada reported that 219 temperature records were set in Alberta during the June 25 to July 2 extreme heat event, including all-time high temperatures recorded in 19 locations. This caused me to take stock of the resilience efforts required to survive the worst heat wave in Edmonton’s history.
The following is a description of my personal experience through the heat wave, and is not intended to reflect anyone else's experience which will be unique.
After receiving the Environment Canada warnings of a “historic heat wave”, we planned a few actions to help us keep the house cool. We set aside a number of extra curtains, blankets and sheets to block windows; gathered all the fans that we had available, and made sure all of our cooling packs were placed in the freezer for an emergency source of cold. We have no air conditioning, and we don’t have access to the basement which is rented by another (lucky) tenant. Together, we expected that this extra step would be adequate to keep us cool. This is the same way we beat the heat when camping, and surely that would be enough.
We were wrong. Our house is a typical 1950s bungalow and there have been minimal renovations other than new windows that were installed sometime in the 1990s. The start of the heat wave was quite manageable—temperatures reached the low 30s during the day but the house was still able to cool off each night and maintain comfortable temperatures throughout most of the day.
Then, on Tuesday June 29th, temperatures that were never observed in Alberta before registered on thermometers across the province. I vividly remember rushing around that morning realizing the outside temperature was already the same as the indoor temperature, closing all of the windows before 8 am. It wasn’t enough. The indoor temperature quickly reached over 30 degrees. I started my normal morning routine but quickly found myself struggling to maintain focus while the air continued to increase in temperature around me. I pulled out my infrared camera and snapped a picture of my home office window (south facing, direct sunlight), which revealed the invisible ‘fire’ that was consuming my house (see picture below).
Things only got worse the next day—the indoor temperature barely dropped overnight and the same extreme temperatures struck again the next day. We filled the bath with cool water for emergency cooling off (multiple dunks were required throughout the day), which was our only refuge from the extreme heat we were facing. Not even the night brought relief, with temperatures still high enough to induce heat stress especially after a day of extreme heat.
The next day, Canada Day, finally brought some relief—while temperatures remained in the mid-30s, night time temperatures finally dropped to more moderate levels. We spent Canada Day reflecting on the extreme weather conditions we just withstood and thinking about what we will need to do in the future when these kinds of extreme temperatures arise again and for longer periods of time. Upon reflection, if the hottest part of the heat wave lasted longer than two to three days, we would have required emergency assistance. Laying sweaty and exhausted in the cool evening following the heat wave, we questioned whether this house is safe or can be made safe given future climate expectations.
It is not terribly surprising that dwellings built before the 1960s are unable to maintain comfortable internal temperatures. Since that time there have been many technical advancements that have improved building envelope performance. However, it is also important to note that buildings of this vintage never contemplated multiple days of +30 degree weather and the need for active cooling equipment; if a resident was hot you would simply open a window to let cooler air in. The buildings were designed using only historically observed temperature ranges and did not consider the unprecedented warming that has now become evident.
Based on information provided by CMHC, there are around 50,000 dwellings that were built before 1960 in Edmonton (around 15% of the current residential building stock). If these homes were not renovated for energy efficiency since their initial construction, they can become a risk for the inhabitants during extreme weather events such as the recent heat wave. Even in the case of a home with some upgrades (such as the new windows in our example above), the performance may not be adequate to provide a safe living environment under the new extreme weather conditions that have occurred and are forecasted to increase in severity and intensity.
What can you do if you are also in one of these older homes that are a higher risk due their original design limitations? I know that some of the same features that keep a home warm in winter can help to keep it cool in summer.
The first step for me is to sign up for an energy audit to get a complete picture of heat loss in winter and, my current concern, heat gains in summer. An energy audit will inform us of which retrofits to focus on first, in order to maximize the efficiency of our efforts. Some of the following efforts may not be recommended as part of an energy audit, but could be helpful, including exterior awnings, window shutters, insulating blinds or reflective window films to limit the amount of heat gained from windows that are in direct or partial sunlight.
While some retrofits may be fairly simple, others will require a little more effort and likely a lot more money. Home energy grants are available to support some efforts, including Edmonton’s Home Energy Retrofit Accelerator and Canada’s Greener Homes Grant program.
This is just a taste of the complicated inner workings of our personal decisions and how they affect our resilience to current and future extreme weather conditions that are on the horizon. If you’d like to explore more climate resilient features for your home, you can check out Climate Resilient Home. I know I’ll be making a few changes to make our home more comfortable, perhaps not in time for the next heat warning, but I may sleep better knowing that a little progress is better than none.
Photo Credits:
This post was submitted by Andrew Read, a City of Edmonton employee and Edmonton community member. If you live in Edmonton and have a climate change story to tell, let us know! Your story could be shared here too.
