Keeping things cool

[worldwiser]

Ok.. it's getting pretty warm again and last summer we practically expired from the heat upstairs in our house. Ours is a typical ED 2-storey, late C19 house with butterfly (London) roof, concrete tiles, PVC double glazing with wood venetian blinds, reasonable loft insulation. The temperature upstairs even with fans blowing and windows wide open reaches 26 degrees at night.

We've tried opening the windows and keeping the blinds closed. We've tried closing the windows and keeping the blinds closed. We've tried only opening the windows at night and early morning. We're this close to installing air conditioning but hear that we may even need planning permission which wouldn't be forthcoming until the summer was over probably.

Solutions I've heard of: painting the roof white. smartlouvres (www.koolshade.com), external French style shutters. roof vents. Replacing roof tiles with slate. Replacing roof tiles with a corrugated material of some sort. Replacing wood venetians with white venetians.

Anyway.. since we've all pretty much got the same house I'm appealing to anyone who might have innovative solutions to spill the beans so we might make our house cool again before we invest in expensive solutions I'd rather avoid. Or if you've successfully put one or more of the rumoured solutions above into effect and achieved results.

Cheers all!

[Mustard]

Which way does your house face, front and back? That can make a lot of difference to the heat problem.

I find my house nice and cool in the summer, but the back is northwest facing. I have a loft at the front of the house, but not a London roof, and no loft at the back. I didn't think last summer was particularly hot though.

I leave the venetian blinds closed in the room I sleep in and the sash window open at top. I also leave most of the windows upstairs open a bit for air circulation.

If your landings are small then the air doesn't get much of a chance to move around.

[womanofdulwich]

I think a through draft is essential- ie open windows front and back, wedge internal doors open.

[Nigello]

I have venetian blinds that are kept shut - with the blades pointing down or "upside down" - from early morning till the sun goes down, or half-shut when I am in.

If you have sashes, open the top and bottom part of each one: hot air rises and exits from the top with less warm air coming in from the bottom. Opening the windows at the front and back of the house helps, I found.

A warm (not cold) shower just before bedtime, allowing the body to cool down naturally will also help you sleep better.

[worldwiser]

Thanks for the 'back and front' idea - we hadn't tried that. Yes, our house faces directly south on one side. Not sure why this thread went to the lounge - figured this would count as an ED issue.

[the-e-dealer]

Because houses get hot all over the world not just in East Dulwich. I've been watching the admin chappy after a few upsets with him!

[Levina]

Have you looked into buying a portable air cooler? It looks very much like a dehumidifier.

[worldwiser]

True, but in other parts of the world they design their houses properly so they naturally keep warmer or colder with little human intervention. In this country our housing stock is typically useless. And since ED houses have an awful lot in common, I thought it appropriate to ask for an ED response. Clearly admin disagreed.

[worldwiser]

I haven't found a review site that lists an air cooler that a majority of people are glad they bought. I'm tempted to go for aircon and be done with it.

[aquarius moon]

I quite envy you worldwiser.

My house never gets hot, even in summer (old, draughty, no double glazing)

In the winter it's like living in the Antarctic.

[civilservant]

This is a long-term solution, and you would need the space to accommodate it, but could you plant a tree to the south of your house?

Short of that, I'd second others' suggestions to keep curtains/blinds firmly closed against the sun during the day and to encourage a draught through the house after dark by opening front and back windows - but also think about the security issue!

[Townleygreen]

the Victorians used sash windows to keep their houses cool in summer. I didn't realise that you have to open both parts of the sash - the hot air escapes out of the top space, and cooler air comes in at the bottom.

It's no good just opening the bottom or top, you need both open.

[Lowlander]

worldwiser Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> True, but in other parts of the world they design

> their houses properly so they naturally keep

> warmer or colder with little human intervention.

> In this country our housing stock is typically

> useless. And since ED houses have an awful lot in

> common, I thought it appropriate to ask for an ED

> response. Clearly admin disagreed.

Do you have sash upvc windows? If not, then opening them won't create enough draft (the original Victorian sash windows, opened top and bottom, create a suprising draft. They weren't stupid).

[Salsaboy]

Try opening your loft hatch to allow the hot air to rise into the loft.

[uncleglen]

An open skylight makes a lot of difference to the cooling but you need to remember to close it at night in case it rains. Also the sash windows could be a bit of a problem in downstairs rooms because opportunistic thieves could just get in if the bottom part is open.

[Robert Poste's Child]

I realise this isn't the answer you're looking for but what I do is wring out a handkerchief in cold water and drape it over one foot - sounds bonkers, I know, but there are a lot of veins close to the surface there and it cools you down as it dries (for the same reason the sole of the foot is the best place for lavender oil if you need help sleeping). You can combine this with a dab of Vick around the nose and/or China oil on the temples. Feels like there's a cool breeze.

[Nigello]

Stick your wrists under a cold water tap for a couple of minutes. The effect is similar to that of putting a cool, damp flannel on your ankles.

[Robert Poste's Child]

For me that wears off too quickly, but then I've got the English inability to cope if the outside temperature goes above 20 or below 12. Early May and late September are usually OK, and I do like a nice traditional wet summer.

[worldwiser]

Wow, proper old school solutions. My objection is when it's 17 degrees or lower outside at night it remains 25 degrees inside even with fans and windows wide open. No-one's commented on roof tile vents as a possible way forward.. We don't have sashes (more's the pity) as the previous owners defaced our house with plastic. But spending thousands on new windows seems over the top if there's a cheaper more effective solution out there.