Whilst it’s always nice to enjoy warm sunny weather, sometimes the heat can become oppressive. So, what are some good ways to keep you and your home cool during a heat wave?
We have pulled together our top 10 tips on keeping your home a cool haven:
- If you can, avoid air conditioning – and it’s not normally required in the UK anyway.
- Keep curtains and blinds closed during the day – and if you don’t have them you could also invest in some blackout blinds. Most of the heat coming into the home comes from solar gain via the windows.
- Keep doors throughout the home open to allow air to circulate.
- Make your own air conditioning unit. Place ice in a bowl and angle a fan behind it to blow cold air into the room.
- Make sure you have plenty of cooling drinks on hand to regulate your body temperature.
- Open your windows at night to allow cooler air to flow into your house.
- Cook outdoors, weather permitting. This avoids adding to the ambient temperature of your home with heat from the oven or grill.
- Don’t use your lighting, particularly when the sun is shining. The bulbs, especially incandescent bulbs, give off a lot of heat. The same is true of other electrical devices like laptops, PCs, games consoles and TVs. Switch them off and go and do something less boring.
- When you have chores like laundry to do, try to do it at night. Appliances give off a lot of heat. The ambient temperature will generally be cooler at night.
- Keep air outside cool. Take a tip from hot, dry countries like Morocco and Spain – install a water feature in the garden. This will create a wonderful cooling effect.
