An impact analysis for the National Guide for Wildland-Urban Interface Fires

Page 74

4.2.8 Energy Considerations Vinyl siding and fibre board exterior cladding have similar insulation properties, with R values around 0.5 (Alaska Housing Finance Corp. 2020). For windows, where double-pane glazing is used to replace single-pane, the homeowner will enjoy energy savings of up to 40% (Natural Resources Canada 2020). The average Canadian household uses about 11,000 kWh of energy per year (Energy Rates Canada 2020), at a cost of about $0.174/kWh (Energy Hub 2020), suggesting an annual energy savings of about $770 per year. Over a 40-year life (Canadian Choice Windows and Doors 2020) at a 3% real discount rate, the energy savings amount to about $21,000. However, single-pane glazing has not been used in new Canadian construction since the middle of the 20th century, so it seems that retrofit to satisfy recommendations of the National WUI Guide will rarely substantially improve the energy efficiency of a house. 4.2.9 Cost Implications for Houses The project team selects from the foregoing either what appears to be the most plausible candidate costs (if there is any strong reason to believe one option over another) or an average (where two or more costs seem equally plausible). Table 19 provides unit costs for new construction and retrofit. Costs are likely to change over time and perhaps between locations in Canada because of market volatility and local labour prices and availability. These costs may need to be revisited after about five years to ensure that benefit-cost ratios still seem accurate. Table 19. Unit costs to satisfy recommendations of the National WUI Guide Item

Unit

New

Retrofit

Delayed retrofit

Ext cladding fibre cement vs. vinyl CC1

sq ft ext wall

($2.72)

$4.05(a)

Add type-X GB for CC1(FR) 45-min rated

sq ft ext wall

$0.75

$0.75

$0.75

Add type-X GB CC1(FR) 1-hour rated

sq ft ext wall

$1.12

$1.12

$1.12

Non-combustible roofing

sq ft footprint

Enclose eaves and soffits

lf

$5.00

$10.00

$5.00

Non-combustible exterior entry door

ea

$605

Non-combustible garage door 9 ft

ea

($165)

$1,400

($165)

Non-combustible garage door 16 ft

ea

($165)

$1,650

($165)

Non-combustible deck and ground cover

sq ft

$15.00

$32.00

$15.00

Non-combustible apron in zone 1A

lf

$8.00

$8.00

Vegetation control zone 1 or zones 1–2

ea

$3,000

$4,000

$4,000

Vegetation control zones 1–3

ea

$35,000

$35,000

$35,000

Energy savings: single to multi-pane glass

Property

($21,000)

Contractor overhead and profit

Project cost

+20%

+20%

+20%

(a) Nil if cladding replacement can be delayed until the vinyl meets the end of its useful life.

58


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B.6 Knowledge gaps and limitations of these conclusions

3min
page 133

B.4 Penticton Indian Band

1min
page 131

B.3 Sagkeeng Anicinabe First Nation community

1min
page 130

Table 44: Summary of limitations and opportunities for future work

28min
pages 109-124

Table 43: Community costs to satisfy recommendations of the National WUI Guide

9min
pages 105-108

Table 42: Allocation of costs and benefits among stakeholder groups

5min
pages 102-104

Table 41: Long-term national benefits and costs of the National WUI Guide

1min
page 101

Table 39: Total household costs for community-level compliance

1min
page 99

Table 37: New design benefits, costs, and benefit-cost ratios for satisfying the National WUI Guide

12min
pages 91-95

Table 38: Municipal and utility costs for a sample community

8min
pages 96-98

Table 30: Vulnerability (i.e., the response function) by equation 5

2min
page 86

Table 20: Cost options to evaluate for each archetype

1min
page 75

Table 19: Unit costs to satisfy recommendations of the National WUI Guide

2min
page 74

Table 17: Vinyl cladding fire spread ratings for some leading manufacturers and common products

13min
pages 68-72

Table 18: Initial clearing and maintenance costs for priority zones

2min
page 73

2.12 Community costs for planning and resources

5min
pages 36-37

3.6 Community costs for WUI guide Chapters 4 and 5

11min
pages 48-52

Table 2: Sample house data fields

6min
pages 43-45

2.13 Cultural and other intangible non-monetary issues

2min
page 38

3.2 Select archetypes

1min
page 42

2.8 Additional living expenses and business interruption losses

3min
page 33

2.6 WUI fire vulnerability models

2min
page 31

1.3 Organization of the report

1min
page 19

2.1.4 Relevant Evidence from the 2011 Flat Top Complex Wildfire

3min
pages 21-22

2.7 Deaths, non-fatal injuries, and post-traumatic stress disorder

2min
page 32

2.1.6 Relevant Evidence from Recent California WUI Fires

7min
pages 24-26

2.3 Retrofit and new design costs, benefits, and benefit-cost analysis

2min
page 28

Summary of key findings

2min
page 17

2.2 WUI guides, standards, and model codes

2min
page 27
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