This is one article that I have not had to think about so far this summer! The British summer has a reputation for rain but this year has taken the biscuit and we have been talking more about drying out after a flood than we have about keeping cool. The arrival of the heatwave has been sudden and extreme with temperatures of over 30°C in the south of England.
Many people struggle to cope with the increase in temperature and find things very uncomfortable. Obviously we could tell you to keep cool with an air cooler like our Sea Breeze three in one air cooler/humidifier/air washer but we like to be more helpful than that and below are some tips to keep cool without an air conditioner or an air cooler.
1. Keep the curtains closed – keep your blinds or curtains closed all day long to reflect the heat and stop rooms from heating up.
2. Eat like a rabbit! – avoid turning the oven on as this will heat up the kitchen and the room above it. Instead eat salads and you will not only create less heat but you will probably lose weight as well – bonus!
3. Turn things off – All electrical appliances give off heat, so turn off the television, computer or lights when you are not using them to reduce your electricity bill as well as any heat gain.
4. Don’t open your windows! – sounds strange but only open your windows when the outside air temperature is lower than the internal air temperature. You cannot cool yourself down with warm air. If there is a breeze then open windows or doors at the opposite side of the room get the full benefit.
5. Ventilate at night – let air flow through the house at night, leave the internal doors open so that air can move around and out of the house. Leave cupboard and wardrobe doors open as well to cool them down, it is important to release as much of the heat stored inside the house as possible. Don’t forget to close the windows again when the sun comes up.
6. Turn your boiler down. You don’t need central heating and the water does not need to be as hot in the shower so turn the thermostat on your boiler down.
7. If you have a basement, use it – the basement will be the coolest part of the house, either make use of it as a room in the summer or if it is packed full of storage then leave the door open and push the air from the basement into the rest of the house using a large fan.
8. Water, it’s your friend, use it – drink loads, at least twice as much as you would normally do. Splash your face, run water over your wrists, dampen your hair, wet your clothes. Put some in a spray bottle and spray yourself regularly, spare others as well, it’s time for fun! All these things will help to keep you cooler.
9. Be lazy – put jobs off until the evening when it is cooler or sit outside and read a book in the shade. The less you move, the cooler you will feel.
10. Turns fans off – when you are not in the room turn your fan off because they don’t cool the air, they heat it (energy from the motor). If you are not in front of it to enjoy the breeze then turn it off.
Hopefully this helps, if the heatwave continues then I will put together an article on longer term solutions. In the meantime, if you do want an electrical solution then I can recommend the Sea Breeze.
