With constant news of heat waves and temperatures hitting new highs every summer, homeowners in the UK need ways to combat the heat and keep their homes cool, and this blog post is exactly what you’re looking for! We’ll go over 7 practical tips you can use to ensure your home is cool and comfortable.
#1 Picking the Right Blinds
Keeping your blinds closed to block the sun is standard advice to keep the interior cool, but it is often not enough to cool down the house to the desired temperature. This is where the type of blinds is a factor.
Blackout blinds or exterior rollout blinds are far more effective at completely blocking the sun and the heat during the day. This alone makes the interior a few degrees cooler when the summer sun is beating down on the house.
If high-humidity night heat is the problem, on the other hand, you can use breathable blinds made from bamboo or thin fabrics. These let the night air in and keep the interior feeling cool and fresh.
#2 Install an Awning or a Canopy
Installing awnings or canopies is an excellent way to combat the summer heatwave. Protecting your house from direct sunlight and UV rays, blinds can create shading and keep the temperature down. This is why they’re a favourite among British homeowners:
- Affordable
Compared to an air conditioning unit, awnings are highly affordable, and in the UK, they’re more than enough to keep your house cool, even during the middle of summer.
- Flexible
Whether it is the patio, the kitchen, or the living room, you can install awnings wherever and however you want. They come in many shapes and sizes that can fit virtually every house layout and design.
- Multipurpose
As opposed to an electric fan, for example, aside from combating the heat, awnings and canopies also make the location largely weatherproof and create excellent living and gathering spaces! Sun canopies for patios will protect against the summer heat as well as the autumn rain!
#3 Making Use of Breathable Fabrics
The type and colour of the fabrics you use throughout the house have an impact on interior temperatures. Breathable, light fabrics like cotton don’t trap heat, allow air to pass through, and keep the rooms cool. Meanwhile, wool is infamous for trapping warm air. Linen has the same breathability as cotton, while silk is somewhere in the middle.
Simply by replacing a few of the fabrics, like the bed sheets, you can improve airflow in the room and keep the room cool, especially during nighttime.
#4 House Plants to Combat the Heat
London’s infamous urban heat islands are 5 to 7 celsius degrees hotter than surrounding parks and rural areas in the summer. This is a significant increase that often takes bearable summer heat to hot weather that impacts your mood and productivity. The primary reason for this increase in temperatures is the lack of plants and greenery in these urban areas.
Making sure you have sufficient greenery indoors and outdoors will keep your home cool all while keeping the air fresh and the atmosphere welcoming. You have complete freedom over which plants to choose, allowing you to use this opportunity to adorn your home as well!
#5 Cold Water is a Great Way to Create Cool Air
Using cold water to create a wet sheet and cover your tower fans with it is a very effective trick to create cool air currents that will combat the hot air and keep your house cool. It takes minutes to set up and can bring down the temperature by more than a few degrees!
However, you constantly need to rewet the sheet every 30 minutes or so as it’ll quickly get dry in the warm weather while being in constant contact with the fan. This can range from mildly inconvenient to annoying depending on the situation.
#6 Pay Attention to Electric Equipment and Light Bulbs
Computers, conventional incandescent light bulbs, and other electronics generate substantial heat when they operate. In a room with windows shut, lacking proper ventilation, this is enough to drive temperatures up to an uncomfortable degree.
A combination of solutions can keep your home cool here:
- Consider Replacing the Electronics
Obviously replacing your computer or TV just because your room gets a few degrees hotter in the summer is unrealistic, but replacing conventional light bulbs with LED lighting will reduce heat generation and energy consumption. Consider which electronics you can replace!
- Employing Fans and Opening Windows
Installing a fan or opening the windows to allow cooler air is often enough to combat whatever heat your electric appliances generate and bring down temperatures in the room.
#7 Improve Insulation
There’s a common misconception that insulation is only relevant to keep the house warm during the winter, but it is just as effective at keeping it cool in the summer. Improving your house’s insulation can effectively keep most of the heat out during summer. Fibreglass, reflective bubble barriers, and foam are all great insulators against heat due to their high thermal resistance.
Improving heat insulation is easier said than done, sadly, as it requires substantial and costly renovation work. Heat films can be a temporary solution but are not as effective. However, like awnings, this is a permanent solution. Once you improve the insulation in your home, you can enjoy cooler summers for years to come!Â
