Keeping the house cool during the heatwave

[DelayRepay]

Like many people, I am currently working from home. Yesterday, I missed being in the office, mainly because the office has air conditioning!

I know heatwaves in the UK don't happen often, but I found trying to work yesterday very uncomfortable.

There was no breeze outside so opening windows did not help. I closed the curtains to keep the sun out but that didn't really help either. I've got a couple of fans which do nothing more than blow warm air around. My bedroom was hot when I went to bed and I couldn't sleep well. This morning my downstairs rooms are quite cool but upstairs is already warming up.

My house is lovely and warm in winter, but it's unbearable when we have days like the last few.

Every year when this happens I start googling 'portable air conditioning' but then the weather breaks before I get around to ordering anything. And, anyway, I am sceptical about whether the cheaper devices will work, and the more expensive ones seem too expensive for something that will only be used a few times each year.

How's everyone else keeping their homes cool? Does anyone have a device that actually works without costing the earth?

 

[Mojo]

Open the windows only on the shaded side of the house, and keep the curtains closed on the sunny side. Move as necessary.

 

[Bayum]

Windows and doors open on full first thing in the morning and on an evening when it begins to cool. Curtains closed. Buy thermal curtain covers.

 

[westv]

Ideally you would have outside shutters to close on the sunny side but very few homes in the UK have those.

 

[DarloRich]

Get some ice cold squash or water in the fridge and use that to help cool down you down. The heat in the house is difficult to manage without a breeze.

 

[S&CLER]

This is when a west-north-west facing flat comes into its own; I don't get sun in my living room until the evening, and during the rest of the day it's pleasantly cool and shaded, while the kitchen and bathroom are in full sun, kept out by blinds. High ceilings also seem to help, but their effect is probably psychological rather than real.

 

[duncanp]

Sitting in a wet T shirt in front of a fan is a good way to keep cool.

 

[alxndr]

I do really badly in the heat so all the downstairs windows and curtains are closed. The doors to the dining rooms are shut as well, which leaves that room with no external windows and keeps it coolest. Upstairs we've covered the windows with cardboard and drawn the curtains as well. The windows upstairs only get opened at night when the air outside is cooler than the air inside.

Also got two fans to keep things moving, and hose down the patio to take the heat away from that so we can go outside in the evenings.

 

[ungreat]

I also struggle in this heat.
Curtains closed!!

 

[gg1]

Ideally you would have outside shutters to close on the sunny side but very few homes in the UK have those.

Awnings are quite effective too. The back of our house faces west so catches the sun in the afternoon and evening, there's an awning fitted above the patio doors in the living room and on hot sunny days the room is significantly cooler than the kitchen next door with doesn't have one.

On an individual level, sitting with your feet in a bowl of cold water will cool you down.

 

[Geezertronic]

5L Portable Air Cooler with 4 Operating Modes, LED Display, Timer & Remote Control

Cool your personal space with the 5L Portable Air Cooler. The unit utilises an economical honeycomb waterfall system which sends warm air over cold water, being kinder to the environment while helping you to reduce your energy consumption.

probreeze.com

Pro Breeze 5l portable air cooler. It doesn't just blow warm air around, you fill up the reservoir with water, ice, or the ice packs that it comes with, and it blows out chilled air. It's not an air conditioner, but much better than a standard fan

 

[Dai Corner]

Light coloured blinds on the south-facing living room windows, kept closed until evening. North-facing windows open wide.

Stay in the north-facing room as much as possible. For me, that's the bedroom so I'm lying in the bed! I ought to get a comfortable chair in here.

In the winter, reverse the set-up, making the most of any sun on the south side, keeping internal doors shut to minimise heat loss. I rarely need to heat my house except on winter evenings.

 

[route101]

Curtains shut on SW facing side of house. Windows open for breeze from late afternoon.

You really need external shading, sun still heats the space between curtain and window.

 

[DelayRepay]

Sitting in a wet T shirt in front of a fan is a good way to keep cool.

Not a great look on Zoom though!

 

[Dai Corner]

Not a great look on Zoom though!

I've heard a number of young ladies earn a living doing just that (or similar) on videoconferencing websites.

 

[Geezertronic]

I've heard a number of young ladies earn a living doing just that (or similar) on videoconferencing websites.

You may be referring to the site that ironically has Fan in the name

 

[Trackman]

Get some ice cold squash or water in the fridge and use that to help cool down you down. The heat in the house is difficult to manage without a breeze.

I once tried taking a bottle of frozen solid water to bed, not full and the top and cap loose. I remember waking at 3am and it had defrosted and was warm!

When the youngster was at Uni we used to move bedrooms for the summer months, the difference in temperature was amazing.

 

[WAB]

5L Portable Air Cooler with 4 Operating Modes, LED Display, Timer & Remote Control

Cool your personal space with the 5L Portable Air Cooler. The unit utilises an economical honeycomb waterfall system which sends warm air over cold water, being kinder to the environment while helping you to reduce your energy consumption.

probreeze.com

Pro Breeze 5l portable air cooler. It doesn't just blow warm air around, you fill up the reservoir with water, ice, or the ice packs that it comes with, and it blows out chilled air. It's not an air conditioner, but much better than a standard fan

I have a similar appliance, and it works much better than an ordinary fan. Not as expensive as air con either, both in purchase and electricity costs.

 

[DelayRepay]

5L Portable Air Cooler with 4 Operating Modes, LED Display, Timer & Remote Control

Cool your personal space with the 5L Portable Air Cooler. The unit utilises an economical honeycomb waterfall system which sends warm air over cold water, being kinder to the environment while helping you to reduce your energy consumption.

probreeze.com

Pro Breeze 5l portable air cooler. It doesn't just blow warm air around, you fill up the reservoir with water, ice, or the ice packs that it comes with, and it blows out chilled air. It's not an air conditioner, but much better than a standard fan

Sadly, but not surprisingly, they're out of stock.

We just had a few rumbles of thunder and a bit of rain. I thought it would clear the air, but it hasn't. Still hot and stuffy. There's a slight breeze now though so at least that's something.

 

[eMeS]

Two years ago in an earlier heatwave, my daughter bought something similar to this, and installed it in her attic bedsit. It cooled well, but sadly the vibrations were easily heard and felt in the bedsit below, so she sold it next day! I wish she'd offered it to me, as I could do with some cooling at the moment.

 

[Dai Corner]

Sadly, but not surprisingly, they're out of stock.

We just had a few rumbles of thunder and a bit of rain. I thought it would clear the air, but it hasn't. Still hot and stuffy. There's a slight breeze now though so at least that's something.

If anyone's in the market for an air cooler, CPC have stocks and don't appear to be price-gouging. I got a fan from them during a previous heatwave when everybody else seemed to have sold out and have used them for electronic and electrical stuff for many years.

 

[172007]

My wife and her colleagues laptops are struggling. Basically they are designed for use in offices with air-conditioning not domestic houses. The laptops are throttling down the processor whilst sounding like propeller aircraft and the heat coming off is like standing next to the inverter on an air-conditioning so if frying the users.

 

[Dai Corner]

My wife and her colleagues laptops are struggling. Basically they are designed for use in offices with air-conditioning not domestic houses. The laptops are throttling down the processor whilst sounding like propeller aircraft and the heat coming off is like standing next to the inverter on an air-conditioning so if frying the users.

Get her to ask her employer to provide a laptop cooler.

I'm not necessarily recommending these particular ones. I just happened to have this supplier's website open from my previous post).

 

[Cowley]

30 degrees and two lorry loads of materials to unload without a fork lift today. Welcome to hell!

 

[westv]

My wife and her colleagues laptops are struggling. Basically they are designed for use in offices with air-conditioning not domestic houses. The laptops are throttling down the processor whilst sounding like propeller aircraft and the heat coming off is like standing next to the inverter on an air-conditioning so if frying the users.

Their houses must be absolutely roasting or the laptops sound like they are more feeble than consumer laptops!

 

[MattA7]

Even here in Scotland it’s about 77F today and supposed to be 80F tomorrow. Because there is no wind opening the windows is useless. Personally for me The hot very humid weather is feels suffocating and worsening my eczema.

 

[gg1]

Their houses must be absolutely roasting or the laptops sound like they are more feeble than consumer laptops!

Or they could be doing very processor intensive work, such as large Excel files with a lot of complex formulas. Even under the best conditions the CPU will heat up, being in a 30 degree house compared to a 22 degree airconditioned office will make a difference.

 

[Crossover]

South-ish facing flat with windows only on one side, Even with the secondary glazing and (white venetian) blinds closed, the temperature in the rooms is around 30C. Windows open on an evening makes little difference due to lack of moving air

Best option I have found is to go out (to a park or whatever) and spend as little time in the place as humanly possible!

 

[eMeS]

South-ish facing flat with windows only on one side, Even with the secondary glazing and (white venetian) blinds closed, the temperature in the rooms is around 30C. Windows open on an evening makes little difference due to lack of moving air

Best option I have found is to go out (to a park or whatever) and spend as little time in the place as humanly possible!

I measured 30degC in the shade in my front garden around 3pm.

 

[westv]

Does anybody open their loft trapdoor to cool the house at night?