Heating off, fans on ?

Rosa_Damascena

HouseMartin567 said:

How hot are peoples houses getting? The highest I have seen the thermostat in my lounge is 25.2 which has felt warm, but not hot enough to have to do any special cooling measures.

@weenancyinAmerica I hate to imagine the temperature in your house without air conditioning!

My south facing kitchen got to 33decC by 9.30am during the previous hot spell we had. Nowhere near the polycarbonate roofed conservatory that I had torn down - would routinely exceed 50 in high heat.

Danien

Having disabilities which make heat difficult to deal with we do the following things:

1) We have black out curtains to prevent rooms heating too much.

2) As soon as one of us gets up in the morning (6am) the windows are opened to cool the flat down (ground floor so no windows open at night)

3) As soon as the air from outside is warmer than air inside the windows are shut.

4) Curtains get closed when sun is round that side.

5) Fans when the temp is not too bad, mobile air con for the room we're in when temp is too high.

6) Iced drinks, all drinks also kept in fridge.

7) Unopened packs of frozen peas for really high temps, or when we come in from having to go out,  to put on wrists or necks to cool down quickly.

8) Small handheld fans for going out with.

9) Making sure the cats have plenty of fresh water, including water outside in the shade changed regularly.

10) Limit sources of heat - not using oven or anything that puts out lots of heat (can't do anything about the oxygen concentrator though).

11) Lots of cold salad variations for hot days.

12) Freeze pops (sugar free for me) and ice cream for husband.

13) chilling bedroom with mobile air con before bed.

Mnoee

HouseMartin567 said:

How hot are peoples houses getting? The highest I have seen the thermostat in my lounge is 25.2 which has felt warm, but not hot enough to have to do any special cooling measures.

I find it difficult to do anything active above about 20c, personally. I can laze on a sofa or sit at a desk at 25c quite easily, but if I'm pulling out the sofa to clean behind it, or building a new ikea flat pack desk, a bit cooler is just more comfortable. Done both in the past few weeks! 

I don't mind preferring it a bit cooler, it's a pain for a few weeks in summer and then a godsend when the gas bill arrives during winter. 

HouseMartin567

Rosa_Damascena said:

HouseMartin567 said:

How hot are peoples houses getting? The highest I have seen the thermostat in my lounge is 25.2 which has felt warm, but not hot enough to have to do any special cooling measures.

@weenancyinAmerica I hate to imagine the temperature in your house without air conditioning!

My south facing kitchen got to 33decC by 9.30am during the previous hot spell we had. Nowhere near the polycarbonate roofed conservatory that I had torn down - would routinely exceed 50 in high heat.

Wow 33C is hot - I would definitely need to enact some of these tips if my house was that hot!!

weenancyinAmerica

So far have the curtains closed. More worried about the cats than us. 26c right now. Our temperature here is supposed to be in the 26-28C range all month which isn't bad. Fortunately my sister who lives in the 35-37C range all month does have air conditioning. My crazy nephews and their families are out in the desert area running around in a caravan, sightseeing. At least the newer caravans have air conditioners as do the trucks they are riding in to pull them and everyone has their mobiles for emergencies which is a big improvement from when we went on vacations. My father was a teacher (as is one of the nephews) so we always had our vacations during July and August. And usually across the desert - takes several days to drive across to Texas. Then several days to get home. One nephew and family is taking 25 days to drive around the desert area! They are on day 11 so far. Highest temp so far they have reported is 39C.

sammy_kaye18

I find that with the weather when it is warm and being on specific medication it makes me less tolerant to the heat. Our house is a warm house too being an old miners house so in the winter its great but in the summer it gets warm. My neighbor also has medical issues so she has her heating on a lot as well. The back of our house gets the sun all morning until about 2pm - as well as the kids bedrooms and the kitchen. Then when the sun moves over its on our bedroom, the living room and the front garden. 

So some of the things we do to help keep our house cool is

1. White blinds on the windows to reflect some heat back out, we open the window behind them too to let air flow if there is a breeze. 
2. I have put reflective film on the kids windows to reflect some of the heat back out as well - which clearly works because it really does get warm but the room stays cool. 
3. We use blankets or just sheets on the bed in summer to keep them cool or they sleep on top of their duvets.
4. We have black out curtains in our bedrooms - the dogs think if the sun is up then its time to get up so not only does it keep our room dark and cool but also keeps the sun out.
5. Windows are open from early morning and closed at dusk. 
6. I brought netting to put over windows to keep all the bugs out
7. Fans in each of the kids bedrooms that oscillate so I can leave all the doors upstairs open and it flows air around all the upstairs. 
8. Our loft hatch is in the middle of a small landing so I crack that open on really hot days to allow heat to be pushed up there too.
9. Husband brought an industrial type fan which is doing wonders for keeping our downstairs cool because we removed doors for the dogs to move between rooms and it helps with airflow. 
10. I brought two glass jugs - so they are usually both in the fridge or switched out and refilled so cold drinks are on offer. 
11. Icecreams get stocked for the kids to keep them cool and plenty of bottled water to take to school, bed etc.
12. We found a dog friendly icecream from greek yogurt and fruit to help the dogs stay cool.
13. I brought a 3ft parasol that can be tilted to put up in the garden to offer shade to us and the dogs if they want to be outside, and then leave the backdoor open to allow air flow and also them access to the kitchen or living room where they can lay on a laminate or lino floor and in front of the fan. 
14. I have a small neck fan so if I am sat working, reading and even cooking or cleaning then it helps me stay cool by blowing cold air up my neck. 

Rosa_Damascena

I received my energy bill for last month and am rather cross that its as high as £67 given my v low usage - the standing charges are a killer, and stupidly I fixed back in December fearing the worst was yet to come. If there's any good news its that I could shave a predicted £250 off my annual bill by today's rates, less than 6 months to go.

My home is wonderfully temperate now its summer, I've got not complaints about that!

MrsStepford

We have an American style screen door on our back door, so we can have the door open without any insects coming in.

I shall have to investigate reflective film for two small windows which don't have blackout roller blinds.