12 minute read
Insurance Now Accepting Bitcoin
from CAM June 2021
by MediaEdge
Now Accepting Bitcoin
Cryptocurrency is here to stay
by Andy Schwartze
By this point, everybody has heard of bitcoin — which happens to be just one of about 400 different cryptocurrencies. According to Wikipedia, a cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange wherein individual coin ownership records are stored in a ledger existing in a form of a computerized database using strong cryptography to secure transaction records, to control the creation of additional coins, and to verify the transfer of coin ownership. Bitcoin, like other cryptocurrencies, typically does not exist in physical form (like paper money) and is typically not issued by a central authority. But when major players like Elon Musk begin to embrace it, it’s a sign of things to come—and even housing providers should take note.
In fact, Canadian rental platform liv.rent recently announced that it has added bitcoin as a form of payment, allowing tenants to now pay their rent with cryptocurrency while the landlord receives fiat currency. The Vancouver-based start-up described the move as “a way to bridge the gap between the world of cryptocurrency and the rental industry, which has been typically slower in the adoption of new technologies.”
A whole new world
While the present banking system was founded on the need to move things of value through our economy, money was developed as a “medium of exchange” and its supply was centrally controlled. Banks are considered safe places where people can keep their financial assets in private accounts, and if so desired, they can lock their valuables in safety deposit boxes.
Cryptocurrencies entirely eliminate the need for any intermediary “storage” or “hiding place” for our money and things of value. The big concern is that there is no exchange infrastructure to act as a clearing house that processes transactions between individuals and businesses. But given direct transactions simply involve the two parties to the deal, why is this such an important issue?
Talk is now growing that governments may at some point in the future develop their own cryptocurrencies. With a vastly growing number of transactions being conducted with debit cards and with cell phones, the need for hard currency is rapidly fading. What would prevent the federal government from moving in the direction of replacing coins and paper currency with a crypto dollar? Just imagine it: each person would have an account which, instead of holding traditional dollars, would record the ownership of “E-bucks”. Direct transactions between parties would be enabled electronically and our individual accounts would receive deposits from employers, pay rents automatically and otherwise keep money flowing in a fairly normal electronic manner. While cryptos like Bitcoin have a limited availability (so we are told) governments could regulate the supply of crypto dollars by enabling the issuance of more, or less, based on the economic, or even political, needs of the day.
Banks’ reputations have not always been pristine, but basically our financial accounts with them are private and relatively safe. If governments want to access our accounts, with a view to seizing what is in them, there is a process that needs to be followed. This is one that often gives us some warning and allows us to take evasive action, in whatever form that may take. A crypto currency system, however, would result in the creation of an account for each citizen within the federal bank. After all, who then needs branches, other than perhaps for the purpose of loan consulting? This now creates a system where government has direct access to a citizen’s crypto account. Politically driven support can be directly deposited, fines can immediately be taken out (without due process) and the nature of incoming and outgoing transactions completely monitored nationally. Government would have a clear picture of what its citizens are up to with unrestricted access to those accounts for the purposes of taxation and any other policy decision. The now
diminished, but still in place, protection of banks as a transactional clearing system would be gone.
Regrettably, the long arm of technology, as it continues to expand, will continue to challenge our abilities to retain control over our privacy, both personal and financial.
For insurance-related inquires, contact andy@takecover.ca
MOBILE FRIENDLY
POST-PANDEMIC PROJECTS FOR MULTIFAMILY BUILDINGS
The pandemic caused multifamily building teams to narrow their focus on health and safety. As a result, many electrical and mechanical projects fell under the radar. Now that the world is making a slow return to “normal,” it is time to bring critical maintenance and retrofit activities back into the spotlight.
“The last year-and-a-half has been stressful for multifamily teams, and some electrical and mechanical items had to be put on the back-burner due to COVID-19 transmission concerns, budget, or even time,” says Ed Porasz, Vice President with M & E Consulting Engineers. “The good news is we’re heading to a better place, and it’s a good time to revisit key considerations.”
These considerations include: • Makeup Air: Indoor air quality (IAQ) has always been a critical consideration. Now, it’s a top priority. The ability to bring fresh, outside air into a building in a controlled manner reduces the risk of
cross-contamination, maintains optimal comfort levels, and increases e ciencies. As such, a building’s makeup air system should be reviewed by sta and/or a professional engineer to make sure it is working as intended and that ideal pressure levels within suites, hallways, and public areas are being met. At the same time, it is worth looking into how the building can better dehumidify or cool makeup air to future-proof your building against rising temperatures. • Kitec pipe failures: If your apartment was constructed between 1995-2005, the suites may have Kitec piping. Unfortunately, these pipes have been found to fail after just 10 to 15 years from the initial installation. If you weren’t already replacing these pipes before the pandemic, now is the moment to revisit this issue.
“Kitec failings are a known concern. It’s not a matter of if they will fail, but when,” explains
Porasz. “And since it typically takes a number of
months to prepare design drawings and go to tender start the project, the best time to get started is yesterday.” • PEX piping risks: PEX pipes were installed on risers and recirculation lines in buildings built between 2005 and the present. PEX has been known to fail, if the velocity of water within the pipes exceeds manufacturer recommendations.
Herein, it pays to have a professional engineer or service contractor come in to review the velocities within your piping system and take measures to extend their lifespan. • Energy-smart retrofi ts: It’s always a good time to revisit HVAC upgrades. Today’s high-e ciency boilers and chillers can dramatically reduce CO2 emissions, smaller environmental footprints, and generate signifi cant energy savings. For example, a high-e ciency condensing boiler can create energy savings to recover your initial investment in as little as four to six years, while an oil-less and bearingless chiller can enable a payback of fi ve to eight years.
Building automation systems (BAS) can also contribute to greater e ciency and operational savings. Moreover, they can help with ease of operation and enable faster responses to equipment failures and repairs. Here again, the initial investment can pay o over the long-term. • EV charging stations: The electric vehicle revolution started well before the pandemic.
Now? It’s shifted into full gear. With eco-friendly attitudes higher than ever, more and more drivers are moving to cleaner, greener, and electric forms of travel. This is a good opportunity to add value to your building by installing EV charging stations for your residents and visitors.
Catching up on essential projects
It’s been a trying time for multifamily teams. Between keeping owner and staff safe and productive, it’s understandable that electrical and mechanical initiatives fell by the wayside.
Nevertheless, electrical or mechanical projects can’t be put on hold forever. As we move into the post-pandemic, there are benefits to exploring the upgrades, repairs, and maintenance activities that will keep your building operating at its peak for years to come.
Ed Porasz is Vice President with M&E Engineering, a professional and multi-disciplined mechanical and electrical engineering firm serving clients in the GTA and across Canada. For more, visit www.me-eng.com.
RADICAL CODE CHANGES ARE COMING
Is your older apartment building ready?
Bringing older residential buildings up to code can be a daunting undertaking, and it’s common for certain key areas to be overlooked. While window, roof, and wall insulation replacements are accessible upgrades widely carried out, some areas—like airtightness—are becoming more urgent as building codes change at a faster rate than ever.
Driven by local climate and environmental forces, as well as new federal and provincial policies, building codes are a set of rules written as the minimum requirements all structures must conform to in order to meet safety, efficiency, accessibility and other standards.
Presently, these codes are changing, both fundamentally and at a rapid pace, says Sameer Hasham, Project Engineer with RJC Engineers. “The approach has shifted from a prescriptive design approach to a performance-based approach,” he says. “In B.C. for instance, the British Columbia Energy Step Code is now well-established for new buildings, which has been a great success. Overall targets for energy use intensities are becoming well defined with a clear roadmap outlined to meet the Net ZeroReady targets by 2032. Radical code changes, and a shift in how we approach the built environment, will pave the pathway to Canada’s decarbonisation goal.”
By 2050, Hasham points out that Canada’s existing building stock will have significantly aged, and it will account for a considerable portion of emissions from buildings if not addressed in parallel to new construction.
“Governments at all levels have recognized the importance of tackling the existing building stock,” he says. “As such, a specific code for existing buildings will soon be implemented. The Pan Canadian Framework has committed to the development of a national model code for existing buildings by 2022, and this will have a profound impact on how we deal with the aging and inefficient building stock.”
INCENTIVES & TAX CREDITS
Building upgrades and deep energy retrofits can come with a hefty price tag—a deterrent well-recognized at all government levels. As such, Hasham says part of the new framework will be to encourage improvements by offering incentives, grants, tax credits and other strategies to help offset costs and lessen the burden on the end user.
“Various programs are already well established, and provincial and federal governments are committing funds for climate action,” he says. “We expect these programs to
get stronger, particularly as the model code for existing buildings prepares to be rolled out. I would not be surprised to hear funding programs announced in tandem with code changes in the near future.”
IMPROVING AIRTIGHTNESS
According to Hasham, one area that is often overlooked in terms of upgrades—and shouldn’t be—is airtightness. “Leaky buildings are inefficient and cost a lot to operate,” he says. “They are a significant source of heat loss, and they also present a risk for moisturerelated issues like condensation build-up within walls.”
Air leaks are typically found around windows, doors, vents, and electrical outlets, which can easily be identified using tools for air leakage testing such as blower doors, thermal imaging and smoke tests—and once detected, they can be easily sealed.
Poorly detailed roof attics is another key area that impacts airtightness. Most owners tend to add insulation into their attic spaces for better thermal comfort as this is a simple and cost-effective solution, however, another option is to remove the older insulation first, which exposes the air barrier transition between the roof and the walls—a very common location of air leakage and heat loss.
When undertaking any roof work, Hasham advises that ducts and penetrations through the attics be sealed, along with sealing / fire caulking the fire separation walls inside attic spaces.
WINDOWS AND ROOFING
While windows and roofing replacement projects are common as they can be easily changed without significantly impacting the use of the building, Hasham does caution around the installment of renovation-style windows. “Although these are marketed as a cost-effective approach, they tend to rely on sealant and do not transition well with the surrounding envelope,” he says. “These can cause adverse effects in failure of the envelope, and do not effectively manage air leakage or moisture.”
In addition, when replacing your older windows with a thermally efficient upgrade, be sure to remove the surrounding cladding to expose the envelope component. “Good practice is to tie-in the new window assemblies to the envelope, and to maintain continuity of the moisture, vapour, thermal and air control layers,” he says.
THE BENEFITS OF CODE COMPLIANCE
Code compliance benefits everyone—from homeowners and building occupants, to our neighbourhoods and cities at large. By making the necessary upgrades to your existing residential building stock, you’ll be achieving the following: • Increased occupant comfort • Better indoor air quality and healthier interior environments • Sound control • Savings in operation costs (i.e. reduced heating bills.) • More desirable, marketable property • Increased property value
It is expected that costs for electricity and gas will continue to increase over time. Add to this government policies, like carbon taxes, and costs over the next 10 to 15 years could continue to soar.
“In Canada, we are extremely fortunate to have access to plenty of natural resources. However, because of this, it’s easy to take them for granted,” Hasham warns. “We have to recognize that we must adapt to the challenges of the environment—and that means continuing to improve our buildings and keeping up with changing codes. For instance, with the International Energy Agency recommending the phasing out fossil fuel boilers by 2025, building owners anticipate this now.” n
For more information, visit www.rjc.ca or contact Sameer Hasham directly at shasham@rjc.ca.
