Keeping home cool, what options are there?

[ericmark]

I can turn on the portable AC when really hot weather, but the problem is it produces condensate which needs emptying. However no such problem with fans, however it would be nice to automate them, so at least they stop as evening approaches, or of course if outside is warmer than inside, so open to ideas.

 

[StephenStephen]

Close the curtains with the windows open where the sun shines in. If the air is hotter out than in, close the windows.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Curtains/blinds closed during the day, to prevent the IR landing on surfaces in those rooms. Once the outside air is cooler than that indoors, on an evening, open west and east facing windows, upstairs, after dark, to allow the prevailing wind to cool the internal fabric down. Close them again, in the early morning. before it warms up. We find it not a good idea to have any windows open in daylight, because it invites flying insects in.

We have a double back/side door, which is often left open during the day. To keep insects out, I fit a flyscreen.

In really hot weather, I add a large fan placed in an nightly opened window, to supplement the breeze.

However no such problem with fans, however it would be nice to automate them, so at least they stop as evening approaches, or of course if outside is warmer than inside, so open to ideas.

I find it takes several days of heat, before the fabric of the house attains too much heat, if I manage the heat input as above - by which time, often the weather will begin to cool down again.

 

[shagster]

Put this stuff up on all windows (outside if possible):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/fowong-Reflective-Insulation-1-5m-2-5m/dp/B0C624SNK8

I didn't get organised with this in the last serious heatwave, so instead I put up ropes outside over the windows which get significant sun and hung up old sheets I use for decorating. I soaked them in water periodically. It worked really well at almost no cost.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I soaked them in water periodically. It worked really well at almost no cost.

I don't follow - how does soaking sheets and hanging them outside windows, help keep the house cool? The shade of the sheets will help, but not the water.

 

[StephenStephen]

I don't follow - how does soaking sheets and hanging them outside windows, help keep the house cool? The shade of the sheets will help, but not the water.

Evaporation takes a lot of heat out the air - hanging sheets in a trough of water, so that it capillaries up and evaporates, can be a very effective way of cooling...

 

[shagster]

I like the idea Stephen. Turn your house into a kind of Zeer pot.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Evaporation takes a lot of heat out the air - hanging sheets in a trough of water, so that it capillaries up and evaporates, can be a very effective way of cooling...

Yep, I well aware of evaporative cooling - but the OP mentioned hanging wet sheets outdoors?

 

[shagster]

The sheets evaporate, so the air around them will cool. So the house is then encased in a pocket of air that is cooler than the temperature the exterior of the bricks would otherwise be, thereby cooling the house. How much of a difference it makes, and whether it's worth the effort is of course open to debate, that's just the theory. While I would never go to the trouble of wrapping my house in sheets and soaking them, since I had been too late ordering the bubble insulation and sheets absorb water I just figured I'd make use of this property.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

The sheets evaporate, so the air around them will cool. So the house is then encased in a pocket of air that is cooler than the temperature the exterior of the bricks would otherwise be, thereby cooling the house. How much of a difference it makes, and whether it's worth the effort is of course open to debate, that's just the theory. While I would never go to the trouble of wrapping my house in sheets and soaking them, since I had been too late ordering the bubble insulation and sheets absorb water I just figured I'd make use of this property.

I would not expect much, if any difference. Simply hosing the the hot brickwork with water, giving it a good soaking, might have more cooling effect.

The silver foil will help, but at the expense of living in near darkness.

 

[StephenStephen]

Evaporative cooling will be much more effective if it targets air, rather than bricks, which is why you'd use it outside open windows.

 

[shagster]

I would not expect much, if any difference.

There is not really any proof either way. But if I'm facing another 36+ degree heatwave in a house not designed for these kinds of temperatures then I'm going to do everything I can to stay cool. Each to their own.

Simply hosing the the hot brickwork with water, giving it a good soaking, might have more cooling effect.

Not a good idea due to the potential for efflorescence. Using something that you can later remove is better.

The silver foil will help, but at the expense of living in near darkness.

Not sure I understand, isn't that just a more efficient version of:

Curtains/blinds closed during the day, to prevent the IR landing on surfaces in those rooms

You take them off at the end of the heatwave, you don't leave them on forever.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Not a good idea due to the potential for efflorescence. Using something that you can later remove is better.

Your brickwork does get wet, every time it rains..

Not sure I understand, isn't that just a more efficient version of: Curtains/blinds closed during the day, to prevent the IR landing on surfaces in those rooms

My vertical blinds can be set to simply stop the direct sun, but still allow light into the room - that is their design for purpose.

Whilst and where my caravan is stored in my drive, the direct sun can only enter through the front windows. It is very well insulated, so the majority of the internal heat gain,, is due to the sun's IR landing on furnishing inside. I could limit the IR, by pulling down the reflective blinds, but there are mentions of the blinds being damaged by prolonged use, and window panels being distorted by heat build-up.

Instead, I bought a cheap emergency foil blanket, which I cut to fit across the internal width of the front windows, and simply hooks in place, leaving a gap between it and the windows, of several inches. The inside of the caravan remains much, much cooler.

 

[Odds]

A Windcatcher may become a useful addition to houses in future - like a large air vent in the roof, able to close in bad weather. Put it right next to the solar panels.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

A Windcatcher may become a useful addition to houses in future - like a large air vent in the roof, able to close in bad weather. Put it right next to the solar panels.

I have one already. Velux window, in the loft. open our kitchen door, with its fly screen in place, and we get a very effective, cooling flow of air up through the house.