QUICK-FIX COOLING IDEAS
QAre there some quick fixes I can make that will help keep my home cool during the summer months?
AIf you’re taking on a build project, designing in preventative measures to avoid overheating should be high up on the agenda, especially in light of Building Regulations Part O (which we focused on in last month’s HB&R). But there are some quick fixes you can do to help cool your home. Creating a cross breeze or cross ventilation in your home is a cheap and extremely effective way to cool down your rooms naturally. Open the windows on the side of the house that the wind is blowing from — then simply open the windows or doors on the opposite side of the space. If you only have windows on one side of the room you are trying to cool, open an outside door on an opposite wall instead and open the window in the next room along.
By doing this you will create a current of air that sweeps across the room. This natural ventilation will take hot, stale air with it and expel it through the opposite opening. Here are other ideas to try:
Fit a ceiling fan and rotate it in a counterclockwise direction during the summer months. This pushes the air directly downwards rather than all around the room.
Invest in good electric fans and direct them upwards to make the most of the cooler air in your home, which will settle at floor level. Also make sure that no large items of furniture are blocking the flow of air that’s produced. For a lovely chilly blast you can position a bowl of cold water filled with ice in front of the fan blades (ensure you do so safely), whereupon frosty water particles will be scattered around the room.
Insulate your roof It may sound counterintuitive to cooling a home but if your loft is hot and your upstairs rooms get warmer than those downstairs, one reason for this is that as the sun shines on to your roof (particularly if your roofing materials are dark in colour), heat is absorbed and then transferred into the loft space. Without proper loft insulation this heat will then radiate into your upstairs rooms. To limit the heat transfer, lay insulation to a depth of 270mm thick evenly across the loft space. Natasha Brinsmead