Home Resilience
Improve your home’s ability to withstand or recover quickly from adverse events, such as severe weather or utility outages. Focus on the building’s envelope and backup power.
Benefits of a resilient home
A good “building envelope” and backup power make your home more durable, more efficient, and safer. These upgrades not only improve the habitability of your home when problems strike but are correlated with year-round energy and comfort benefits.
Reduced risk from adverse events
Maintain the habitability of your home longer during severe weather or utility disruptions
Improved durability
Minimize weather- and non-weather-related impacts and repair costs through a combined strategy of maintenance and renovations
Increased sustainability
Resilient homes tend to be more energy efficient, which protects the climate
Year-round comfort
Managing factors like temperature, drafts, and humidity improves comfort year-round
The Technology
How It Works
The most common risks that Massachusetts homeowners can address through a resilient home are severe weather, water damage, and power outages. Thus, the most practical strategies involve improving and maintaining your home’s envelope, managing water-related risks, and installing battery backup power. Adding solar PV can extend the value of battery backup.
Video
Understanding Insulation and R-Value
This Old House | 2 min. 42 sec.
Insulation helps maintain indoor temperature when the power goes out.
Incentives and Financing
Things to Consider
If you answer yes to ANY of these questions, then resilience improvements are a good fit for your home
Does your home frequently lose power?
Weatherization helps your home stay livable longer if the power goes out. Since most fossil-fueled heating systems also need electricity to run, it’s ideal for your home to be able to “coast” at comfortable indoor temperature for an extended time. Battery storage allows critical systems, like sump pumps or heat, to stay on. When paired with solar PV, your battery system can run even longer.
Is your home vulnerable to severe weather?
Resilience measures can help protect your home from damage due to water or wind, and allow you to stay in it through extreme heat or cold or extended power outages. You can learn more about local risks from your municipality’s climate vulnerability assessment or preparedness plans.
Is your home drafty?
Air-sealing and other weatherization measures will reduce drafts, save you money on heating and cooling, and improve your home’s ability to stay comfortable through a power outage.
Are you planning any home renovations?
Ideal times to think about building resilience are when:
- You’re getting a new roof, windows, or siding
- Home systems like heating, cooling or hot water are being replaced
- Energy efficiency improvements are being made
- You’re adding living space to your home or other renovations are being made
Is your home located in a flood zone?
This free tool can help you learn more.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
HOME RESILIENCE
Efficiency first: Improve your home’s resilience by weatherizing
We’re In This Together
Pledge to reduce your home’s carbon footprint by replacing old systems and appliances with clean energy technologies over time.
