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  7. Climate Hazard & Property Resilience Assessment

Property resilience is the ability of a facility to adapt to and withstand disturbances while retaining the same basic structure, function, and self-regulation. Resilience includes the capacity of an asset to adapt, adjust, withstand, and recover from various external forces, including global climate change.

Good resilience assessments begin with a strong data foundation and continue with expert engineering analysis.  Partner Energy works with best-in-class climate hazard data firms, including Moody’s/427, to identify and analyze potential regional climate risks.

We go beyond identifying regional climate hazards to deliver property-specific risk assessments and recommendations that help clients mitigate risks from climate change. Our team of engineers, architects, building scientists, and real estate experts conduct site visits to analyze risks at the asset-level in order to assess how resilient the property is today and recommend property-specific resilience measures.

We also consider the specific client’s risk tolerance and investment objective in order to make targeted recommendations that are based on factors such as asset hold period. The result of the assessment is an inventory of potential risks, list of property specific recommendations for risk mitigation measures, as well as cost and savings calculations.

Our Assessments

Partner Energy provides regional climate hazard reports for individual properties, as well as portfolio analysis of multiple properties using aggregate data. The climate hazard report can be seamlessly integrated into due diligence as add-on to the PCA or Phase 1 ESA.

For a more comprehensive asset-level analysis, Partner Energy’s Climate Hazard and Property Resilience Assessment incorporates climate hazard data to deliver property-specific risk assessments with custom solutions for risk mitigation.

Climate hazards are assessed on a regional and site-specific level and include:

  • Earthquakes
  • Floods
  • Heat Stress
  • Hurricanes & Typhoons
  • Sea Level Rise
  • Water Stress
  • Wildfire
Risk Factor Mitigation Measure Example
High Winds
  • Install fasteners on all rooftop equipment to prevent lift during high winds.
  • Replace windows with impact resistant glass.
Wildfire
  • Remove dead and dry plant material from site. Install wildfire control lines (vegetation clearings).
  • Install a wildfire defense system (may include water tanks and/or fire suppression foam/gels).
Hail
  • Install hail guard on roof-top HVAC equipment to prevent hail damage.
Precipitation and Storms
  • Install risers to lift mechanical equipment a minimum of 18 inches above grade, preventing water inundation in a flooding situation.
  • Regrade parking area to provide a minimum of 2% slope away from building foundation.
  • Upsize catch basins and stormwater drainage system to accommodate 15-30% more storm water volume.
Sea-level rise
  • Install permanent flooding barriers at perimeter of site to surge waters.
  • Stockpile additional temporary water barriers, such as concrete barriers and/or sandbags for acute flooding events.
  • Relocate energy generators and mechanical equipment from basement to above grade location.
Earthquake
  • For buildings with tuck-under car ports, complete seismic assessment to determine ability to withstand earthquake; seismic retrofitting may be necessary.
Air Quality
  • Install minimum MERV 14 air filters and/or HEPA filters.
  • Install UV-C duct/air disinfection system, increase outside air exchange rate.
Extreme Temperature
  • Complete energy efficiency audit and retro commissioning to identify opportunities to reduce energy demand and mitigate peak demand.
  • Install cool roof.
  • Install building automation system (BAS) and optimize sequence of operations.
  • Topcoat parking lot with high solar reflectance index (SRI)/light-colored coating to reduce heat island effect.

Partner Energy’s deep knowledge of building science, real estate, and sustainability allow us to deliver concrete and actionable resiliency recommendations that provide improvements or upgrades to the asset. We also regularly develop custom resiliency assessment protocols to meet the individual needs of clients.

Our Climate Hazard and Property Resilience Assessments can be ordered as a standalone service or as an add-on to Property/Facility Condition Assessments, Energy and Water Audit, or Environmental Site Assessment.