Help! Insulation has turned my house into a sauna!

Tessie_Balloon_Juice

I've moved into a house with A LOT of roof insulation. I'm sure I'll be grateful for it in winter but in this heatwave it is completely unbearable!

My house is a dormer bungalow. Because my top floor is actually the attic, its tropical up there! It doesnt bother me too much during the day because I spend most of my time downstairs but at night it is dangerously hot up there!

My windows open wide with no restrictors and I have two cats, so I can't leave the windows open at night in case they plummet to their deaths.

I managed to borrow a portable air conditioner from family but it has barely made a difference because of the amount of heat it blows out of the back vent. I've heard that putting a bowl of ice in front of a fan can simulate air conditioning but so far I'm not convinced. The sound of a fan is quite disruptive to sleep so its not ideal, anyway. Sadly, I don't have the budget for a proper fitted air conditioning system and even if I did, I'm not sure I could afford the running costs.

I think the first thing on my to do list is to get some window restrictors so that I can leave them partially open.

Does anyone have any tips for keeping a well insulated house cool in summer? Please share them before I pass out from heatstroke!

Biggles

Tessie_Balloon_Juice wrote: »

My windows open wide with no restrictors and I have two cats, so I can't leave the windows open at night in case they plummet to their deaths.

I shouldn't worry, cats don't plummet. And even if one did slip and fall, it wouldn't hurt itself falling from a bungalow.

nickj_2

you need to start by trying to keep the house from heating up , so if you have really thick curtains keep them pulled during the day ,iif the curtains aren't thick enough try tin foil or white paper if you have one , open the lot hatch , the hot air will rise into that space , i'm sure if you left your windows open your cats won't plummet to their deaths from a bungalow dormer ,
you need to vent your air conditioner outside somehow , other wise it's just recirculating the heat , however if you put it out of the window then it isn't going to cool the room down much ,
could you not sleep downstairs during the hot weather , this is the uk , the weather probably won't stay hot for much longer , esp as the kids are on summer hols now

Stooby2

This may help...

http://www.flat-cats.co.uk

Tessie_Balloon_Juice

Thanks for the Suggestions! you are a helpful bunch, arent you?

Perhaps I should have mentioned that they're indoor cats!

I have blinds for privacy and floaty voile curtains for decor so they dont do much to keep the heat out. I'll try hanging some sheets of foil in the windows to try reflect some heat back.

No loft hatch, I'm afraid the whole of the attic is converted and that's where the bedrooms are. I'm considering getting a velux fitted so I could open it for ventilation but that may well be out of my price range.

Because the air conditioner is portable it can only be vented through a window. It's completely pointless! The tube that it vents through givesoff loads of heat before it even gets to the window. Perhaps that's why they were so willing to lend it to me!

If this weather keeps up i think I'll have to set up camp on the couch, which is a great shame as I'm very attached to my bed!

I was wondering about ordering an "air cooler" (not an air conditioner, it seems) from argos. It's reduced to about £50 and seems to use ice packs and a fan to circulate cool air but the reviews range from the ridiculous to the sublime so I'm not so sure. Anyone used an air cooler before?

Tessie_Balloon_Juice

Stooby2 wrote: »

This may help...

http://www.flat-cats.co.uk

Thanks for that! I was actually planning to get some of those for my kitchen windows (I like to open them when I'm cooking to get rid of food smells) and I'd forgotten about them. I think I'll order some for upstairs in the meantime I might be able to fashion something similar with an old net curtain and some gaffer tape. Wish me luck!

ed110220

I think it's unlikely that the insulation has made the problem worse, as usually insulation helps keep buildings cooler when it's hot outside by keeping the heat out just as it keeps it in if it's warmer inside than out in the winter.

Tessie_Balloon_Juice

ed110220 wrote: »

I think it's unlikely that the insulation has made the problem worse, as usually insulation helps keep buildings cooler when it's hot outside by keeping the heat out just as it keeps it in if it's warmer inside than out in the winter.

That's what I thought but now I'm not so sure! Honestly, Its hot hot hot up there. You can feel the heat from halfway up the stairs. It feels like when you step off an air conditioned plane in a hot country and the heat just hits you! I think the fact that all of the windows in the dormer are south facing so the sun just beams in all day. Anyway, whatever the reason, I need to do something about it!

I found a tip about cooling yourself down, rather than the house, with a cold bath. I've just tried that (I didn't dare put ice cubes in though!) and I'm actually quite chilly now. I might even be grateful for the warm room If I can stay cool until bed time.

menollyke

It is not the insulation, it is the converted loft. My parents house had a converted loft, or at least all houses were build with the loft converted from the moment they were build. In the summer it always used to be way to hot up there for a bedroom. We were always told it has to do with the roof being dark and heating up massively, and than the temperature in the loft rises.

In our old house the loft (which wasn't converted) was always hot in the summer, however the bedrooms were a reasonable temperature and the hot temperature normally stayed in the loft. Now we are living in a bungalow with converted loft and it is hot up there. We have windows open all day and all night and only close to the morning it starts to cool down.

Just saying, it isn't the insulation, it is the loft itself, being just underneath the roof that makes the room hot.

southcoastrgi

the insulation has diddly squat to do with it, i have no insulation downstairs & a window that leaks heat like no tomorrow (although it's closed because of the cats), it is now 3-30am the temp outside is 18.4 & the temp inside is 27.6, hence the reason i'm on here cause i can't sleep

Dumbe

What size output is the portable air conditioner ? It will be measured somewhere on it in both kw and btu..

It could be that the room is too big for it to be effective or you are trying to cool down the whole floor.

Try ensuring the door is closed.. And that the hot air vent surrounds (it should have a long plastic surround that helps with fitting to the window) Have no gaps when you fit it to the window.

It can fit horizontally or vertically but it's essential that you minimize the open window aspect when the ac is on for it to work. Some people then add towels etc to the hose to insulate the heat on its way out.. Never tried that!

If you are unsure what I mean delongai have some pictures in their portable ac manuals that should help just google delongai portable ac manual..

If you have windows that open outwards rather then slide you may need to be quite inventive when fitting the hose surround ..a nd maybe get some extra plastic or other material to cover any areas where air can come in like the top with it ..as most hot country that use there also use sliding windows .. The manufacturer if you explain your type of window will also have some suggestions.

If you own the house they also come with permanent fitting intructions where basically the hose is feed through a specially drilled hole to the outside .. This is supposed to make the ac move effective ( same principal as a split system ac.) but never tried this

Provided the output is the right size for the room and you have followed this although the hose will feel super hot.. It should work ( I have used them in 40 degree temperatures and although noisy they do work if done correctly.)

Another trick is to position a basic fan in front of the ac to then circulate the cool air.

Failing that you don't have to get ac fitted to the whole house .. What you need you really can't get relief and will be there for a long timewith the portable ones is a single unit split system it is cheap to run as when fitted its is quite efficient ( try looking at the Samsung website as they do good single unit ones, lg is another one or Panasonic or Sanyo). When fitted these are really quiet usually reverse cycle so they heat as well and very very effective .. ( I had one in the living room in 40degree heat and it easily cooled the room down to 20 degrees within minutes!

However I suspect that either your portable one is too low an output for the space or the hose and surround isn't fitted to the window as even in 40 degree weather they if set up correct do work but are noisy and a lot more expensive to run then a fitted split system.



I had a quick look and you can get a good one for about 400 pounds.