Help! Insulation has turned my house into a sauna!

mehera

In places like india they have window shutters to keep out the heat of the sun. Cover all windows like this in the day to reduce heat ingress . . .

Then open windows at night to allow air to flow a little!

Dan-Dan

dorma bedrooms are dreadful places to be in the summer , god , some of the worst nights of my life were spent wih a new born in a dorma in the middle of august!

zzzLazyDaisy

Attic conversions are HOT on hot weather - you are sleeping under a huge expanse of roof that is sitting under hot sun all day, absorbing the heat...

Fortunately (or not) this is UK - these temperatures won't last long, so in my view it is probably not worth investing a lot of money in dealing with the problem.

The most effective steps that won't cost too much are:

1 Keep the attic dark, as it will help to keep it cool. Just taping heavy cardboard over the window panes should help with this

2 stacking two or three freezer blocks in front of the fan does help as the air is cooled as it blows over the iced blocks (this is the principle of the argos fan, so try this before you pay out £50 for the fancy version)

3 keep the whole house cool as heat rises - consider investing in some insulated blackout curtain liners from Dunelm Mill or Argos - these will stop the sun coming in and help to reflect the heat back out the window (and will also be useful in keeping the house warm during cold weather). Just hanging the liners on their own will do a lot to keep the house cooler.

4 concentrate on keeping one downstairs room dark and cool, day and night, and sleep in there during the current hot spell

hth

Dx

Southend1

I read an article last week saying that current pressure to insulate homes to very high levels will potentially lead to deaths among elderly and ill people due to the excessive heat in the summer. Can't find it now though to post a link!

nickj_2

Southend1 wrote: »

I read an article last week saying that current pressure to insulate homes to very high levels will potentially lead to deaths among elderly and ill people due to the excessive heat in the summer. Can't find it now though to post a link!

insualtion should work both ways - ie keep heat in during the winter and out during the summer,

anotherbaldrick

nickj wrote: »

insualtion should work both ways - ie keep heat in during the winter and out during the summer,

Our Eco house with good insulation has kept nice and cool in the current heatwave and we have had no problem sleeping. We also have a dormer roof and this does not heat up as we have no loft of superheated air trapped above. We find that if an hour or so before retiring we fully open every window the through vent of cool air brings the temperature down and we can shut them as we go to bed

Southend1

Aha! Here's the article I was trying to find.... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2358191/OAPs-die-Green-Deal-homes-Energy-saving-scheme-leave-homes-dangerously-overheated.html

Tessie_Balloon_Juice

Thank you all so much for your suggestions. Looks like I'm not the only one with this problem!

I think i'll try some roller blinds with reflective backing in the upstairs windows. My downstairs windows all have wooden shutter style blinds which I've been keeping closed to keep the rooms shaded.

I think I need to look more closely at the air conditioner. Its quite a large unit and I think it cost around £500 when they bought it. Its not an especially large room either so I think it will be up to the job if I can sort out the problem with the heat it generates. Insulating the hose seems like a good idea. It gets so hot you can't touch it and makes the area around it hot too. I don't really want to drill through the wall to vent it because its only borrowed. If I was looking to do it more long term I'd probably look for a modern slimline air conditioner that I could fix to the wall. This one is about the size of a small fridge!

I did try putting some ice blocks in front of a fan again this afternoon. I filled my biggest tupperware containers last night so I had 2 big ice bricks to use. I'm still not sure that it makes much difference so I think I'll pass on the Argos air cooler if it works in the same way.

Thankfully it's been cooler today and I've also rigged up a screen in front of my window with a bit of spare mesh fabric and some strong tape. Hopefully that will keep the cats in and the bugs out so I can leave my window open a little bit. That should allow some of the hot air to escape and it will be a bit more bearable. Fingers crossed!

Thnaks again for all your help. It's much appreciated!

Jon_Tiffany

Don't waste your money with air coolers, they increase the humidity. In the pound shops you can get those foil blankets, these are excellent for putting up at windows to keep the heat out. Ideally you need to let in cool air at night to cool the house and then keep windows shut furing the day to keep the heat out.

Norman_Castle

Just leave the windows open and trust your cats not to fall out and plummet to their deaths:rotfl:. They're not stupid.