Summer 2022 has already seen record breaking temperatures hit much of the country, and we have a little way to go before the cooler season starts. With UK properties mostly designed to keep heat inside, and less than 5% of us having some kind of air conditioning at home, soaring temperatures can be a struggle for many.
Here are out tips for keeping your home cool, and some may surprise you!
Cover or close windows
It might sound counter-productive, but unless the air outside is cooler than the air inside, opening a window might actually make the problem worse. Unless you're near the coast where a lovely sea breeze can enter your home, open windows will only ensure that the air inside is as warm as the air outside. Light breezes might feel refreshing if you can find them, but consider whether your open window is actually helping, or in fact spoiling all your other efforts to cool down your home. When the air is at its coolest outside, for example at night, open windows can be more helpful, but it's recommended to close windows again around 9am when the temperatures outside begin to rise.
There are apps available that can tell you the tempature inside and outside, so you can decide if opening a window will help.
If you're able to shade or cover windows that are exposed to direct sunlight, you can reduce the amount of heat that's transfered inside through the glass. Outside shutters are most the effective, but blinds or curtains will help too.
When it comes to windows in a heatwave, most of the time it's not a case of letting cool air in, but the challenge of keeping the warm air out!
Turn it off
While many bulbs and electrical items attempt to be low energy output these days, every little helps! Turn off lights and any electrical equipment that are not in use around your home to limit any unnecessary heat being created.
Use a fan (correctly)
Electric fans are pretty much the extent of the air con situation here in the UK, with sales undoubtedly soaring this summer. They don't always seem to be as effective as we'd hoped though, do they? That might be because we're doing it wrong...
Fans don't actually make the air cooler, they just recirculate the air in the room. Placing a fan by an open window can help to bring air from outside in, but as before that only really helps if the air outside is cooler than the air inside. They also circulate dust and pollen in the air, which may trigger allergies in some people. While fans don't actually cool the air, they do make us feel cooler, because the hottest air around our body is constantly being replaced by new air, and as long as that air is cooler than our body temperature it can bring some relief. When air temperatures reach 35°C, though, fans can actually make you hotter! Plus, keeping a fan running in an empty room actually does nothing to cool the room down, and probably does a fair bit to raise your energy bill up unnecessarily.
To get the most out of our electric fan try to position it at the same height or lower than you, such as on the floor or a low table, with the unit pointing up. That will blow the cooler air up, rather than pushing warmer air (which rises to the top of a room) down onto you.
Open the loft
If you have a loft or attic hatch that can remain open safely, consider keeping it open for the duration during hot weather. We all know that heat rises, which is why upstairs (where most of us try to sleep in the heat) gets the warmest. By opening the loft hatch that hot air has somewhere else to go - up! With modern insulation keeping much of the heat inside lofts these days, it's probably a good idea to avoid going up there if you can, but it can provide another level to your home for that hot air to rise to.
Keep conservatories open... and closed
Conservarory windows are the exception to the 'keep windows closed' advice, as you'll effectively create a greenhouse with all of the hot air trapped inside thanks to all that glass. However, doors between the conservatory and the rest of the house should be kept closed to avoid that air coming into your living spaces.
We really hope some of these tips can help you and your family stay cooler this summer. Were any of them surprising to you? We definitely learnt a thing or two today!
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Posted on: 12 August 2022
