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Preparing for Whatever Comes Next: How to Prepare Your Home for the Future

The world is constantly changing. Trends come and go. So, if you are in the process of building your home, it should be designed in a way that will make it functional and comfortable even after a decade or two.

Future-proof is the term used to describe strategies that consider the inevitable passage of time. People stay in their homes for years and, even when they leave, they pass it on to another family. It makes sense to design not just for the needs of today, but for how life will be like years from now.

By future-proofing your home, you can guarantee that it would remain relevant both design-wise and in function. You would not have to make major renovations anytime soon because, anything that you would need — whether you want to add technology or you want to prepare for a weather event — is already available for you to use. Moreover, future-proofing will only increase the resale value of the property once you are ready to move on.

But, how can it be done? No one can predict the future, but there are signs that point toward certain shifts in the future. Major concerns such as climate change will become central to how homes are built and used in the coming years. Follow these tips to future-proof your home.

Energy Efficiency at the Core

People want a home that is energy efficient. It guarantees that their utility bills will be lower and, thus, they can save up money. Any homes that want to continue existing in the future should have energy efficiency integrated in its designs.

There are several ways to achieve energy efficiency at home. A simple change such as replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) or light emitting diode (LED) can make a huge difference.

It could also be a major change like replacing existing windows. Windows are responsible for most of the heat gain and heat loss indoors, costing up to 30% of energy consumption for heating and cooling. If you are selecting residential windows for your new home, you would need to choose the options that work best for the climate. If you live in a state where you get sun for most of the year, for example, you may choose to use either low-emissivity (low-e) or spectrally selective coating to reduce the amount of heat that comes into the house through the window.

A Smarter Home

Your home should be ready for whatever new technology will be released in the coming years. Although the idea of a smart home has only recently been added in the public’s lexicon, adoption in regular households have been quick. Pretty much everyone now owns at least one smart home device such as a smart television, a smart refrigerator, smart lights, or a voice assistant.

There is no doubt that the world is headed toward a future where smart home is what is normal. More people will upgrade their devices to achieve maximum comfort, ease, and efficiency. There is also the added safety that smart home security systems offer homeowners.

By integrating smart devices, you add livability into your home. With everything within reach through a smartphone or a voice assistant, everyday experiences in your home is improved.

Increased Resilience to Weather Changes

There is no denying that, in the future, the entire human race will have to face the consequences of climate change. Unless major decisions from corporations and world leaders shift the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions and the rising global temperature, people can expect the weather to be thrown out of chaos.

In the future, extreme weather events will become more frequent. Category 5 hurricanes and wildfires that burn across multiple states or lasts for several months will become mainstays of the news.

Depending on where you live, it would save you a lot of trouble and unexpected expenses in the future by building a home that will be resilient to extreme weather events. This goes beyond just building to code. You would need to do more by using known strategies that make a construction project more durable to increased rainfall and wind, heavier snowfall, and long bouts of drought.

These changes begin with the aspects of the house that you cannot see such as the foundation, the walls and roofs, and the mechanical systems in place. Although it would cost more to construct a home that will be resilient to extreme weather events, it will ensure that you would always have a place to stay whatever happens in the future.

Future-proofing your home secures a comfortable, functional, and safe and secure for a long time. More than cabinets and counter tops, every homeowner should make future-proofing their home a priority.