Thread for people in sweat box flats

[EmmaH2022]

Please not just me?

I’m waiting for the outside temp to penetrate these insanely insulated walls. The temp in here is the same as yesterday. It will be like this till October unless we get a cool spell.

when I go outside I’m surprised it’s not boiling. These places are mad. They should have been made with air con as standard.

The reason people open the windows is to let some breeze in from outside. Even if it's warmer out there, the movement/breeze makes it feel much nicer indoors.

We have windows open but curtains closed which makes a big difference.

I WFH and its insufferable. I've been known to sit in a cold bath, put my laptop on the toilet and work from there for some relief.

I repeat to myself that I've never ever had to put heating on in this place so try and take the rough with the smooth...

In hot countries there’s no cool breeze generally so no need to have windows open during the day. In the UK on all but the very hottest days there is a breeze and the windows make a big difference to the comfort levels inside. That’s why we open them.

When we lived in a flat (4th floor, under the flat roof), it was toasty.
We also had tilt and turn windows and added a film from ‘tesa’ I think that acts like heat reflection to the glass. It’s the equivalent of adding triple glazed windows to a double glaze in terms of the uv level that gets through. You just use a hair dryer to apply them.

I'm not sure the insulation is to blame, in theory it should be keeping the heat out... What about shutters or a reflective awning on your windows? I was thinking about these things last night, upstairs in my house is still unpleasantly warm. There are not many options for retrofitting. House design needs to be changed going forward but I dont think it's happening fast.

Have you looked into the units that vent heat into your cold water? We have one, and it’s very good. Nothing external to the building needed at all.

Oh god yes , here too. All of this. Corner flat, so huge glass windows on two sides, south and west, so really hot. I keep the blinds down as much as possible, but can't always for various reasons. Also can't leave windows open at night as it's on a main road, ground floor. And can't get a cross draft in any way.

I have a portable air con that vents out the window, which I sealed with those velcro stick on covers. It works ok, though not as well as I thought it would for the price, which was massive!

I would like to see about getting proper air con, but I can't see that our management would let us drill through the walls to put a vent in. Has anyone ever asked and did your management company let you? I would much rather get something in the ceiling than on the wall, as I don't have much space on the walls, but I don't know what is above the ceiling or how to access it, and it sounds like it would be really hard to get to? I looked into the air con that vents into the water system, but it's quite expensive, and at the time I was looking, was only available in London. I might look again though if people find that it's quite good.

I worry about the cost of the electricity for air con, as well as the environmental costs, but then I can't just melt at 30+ temps either! I think properly installed air con is cheaper than the machines venting out the window - does anyone know?

I was also looking into blinds that go on the outside, as that would be more eco friendly, but again it would require permission, and since it would change the look of the building to an extent, I suspect they'd be less likey to allow that than to drill a hole for air con. The blinds are also pretty expensive inititally, but at least you don't have ongoing electricity costs. I do wonder if they would really do enough, especially as I can't have them down all day!! Maybe an awning style, but again on a main road that might be difficult. It does apparently help to block the sun before it hits the glass though, rather than on the inside, which makes sense. Has anyone installed these? you can get remote operated ones, with an app, etc.

I have a tall Dyson fan that is fairly quiet, quieter than the portable air con unit, so that helps at night. I wondered about getting some of that bedding that has been advertised a lot recently, supposed to be cooling sheets and duvet covers. Ikea also has a cooling pillow with a gel side that might help.

It still gets cold in the winter too, which I don't understand! Not that badly though, but I do have to put the heating on every day, especially as I sit near the windows.

And the annoying thing is that despite the insulation, and the lower gas and elec use overall, it is not cheaper!! The standing charge is what kills me, as I don't use all that much energy at all, but I still have to pay the same standing charge as bigger flats or flats with more people etc, and it's really expensive. So it doesn't motivate me to cut usage all that much, as it doesn't save much money (but I do try, for eco reasons).

I don't live in a flat but my bedroom is in the middle of the roof space. This means there is a huge amount of insulation either side of the bedroom walls, like it's wrapped in a huge duvet. It doesn't help there is a miniscule window

Even this morning it was 26 when I woke up. Nothing I've tried cools it down, my neighbours have put in air con

Re water cooled air con, there's nowhere to have the internal parts IYSWIM.

re awnings, not permitted, I couldn't get them fitted except on the balcony due to the height, and cardboard has the same effect but a lot cheaper! I wish I hadn't recycled last year's. Will go to newsagent and ask if they have some boxes.

honestly I have looked at everything.

I just wanted a thread where those of us living in these places can moan.

Bot yes, the standing charge is mad. Re the ceiling, you need to check what's there. This block has been packed with the max number of flats, as have most of them, so the amount of space required simply isn't there.

Our kitchen has a bench against two walls, so the back corner unit underneath was empty (no clever pull-out unit there). We had the whole mechanism installed in there. If you are willing to give up one of your base units it should be possible.

Femme but where do you put the vent for the cold air to come in to the flat?

How big is the unit where you put the piping, if you don't mind me asking?

it's a one bed with lounge/kitchen here. There's not much space for anything, unless I remove the oven and grill, which I did consider!

There are two wall-mounted units in two bedrooms. The coolant pipes to them from the main unit are small-bore so can be routed through the walls.

Ours is a warehouse conversion, with exposed conduits for services, so we opted to just run the coolant pipe across the one ceiling where walk-routing would have been difficult.

To be clear, air-conditioning is not pulling cold air into the flat, it’s passing warm air from the room through a unit and cooling it down; there’s no connection to anywhere outside the flat at all.

Femme I see. You must be in a big flat?

I called two companies and they said no

i understand how it works but when I asked where you put the incoming panel, i.e, the bit which puts the water cooled air in, it's because here, there isn't anywhere to put it as there's not a lot of wall ITSWIM.

I just googled base unit....you mean give up a space under a worktop? That's the only kitchen storage there is.

anyway...onwards! Hopefully I won't be living here next year and for now, all the sweatbox dwellers can moan here.

Yes, it’s 1,800 sq feet, and south-facing.

The reason we had to go for this solution is that it’s grade-1 listed, and no outside alterations are allowed.

Oh wow! 1800 sq feet is amazing.

There was a nice breeze coming from the balcony, but a neighbour has started cooking something and it smells like a mixture of petrol and grease.

So the door is closed and the air con goes back on. In fact, I should probably go outside and check there's not a BBQ on a balcony 😱

@BotCrossHuns I have the M&S comfortably cool bedding and really like it
If I say my cat will never ever sleep on the bed, he just doesn't and he also loves cold places (I'm sure he's not actually a cat). I got the M&S bedding and put it on, he climbed on the bed and stayed there. Now every time I use it, he gets on the bed and sleeps won't do it with any other bedding
So it feels different, even to a cat that can't read what it's supposed to do!

oh that's good to know about the bedding, thanks. I think I'll get some for the summer. Aldi has it as well but sold out in the colours/sizes I want, so I'll check M&S and some of the other offerings.

How are hot flat dwellers doing?

I'm dreading this week.

Trying to read tonight. Balcony door open. So much noise, cars playing music etc. In a normal home, I'm guessing no one has to have even a window open tonight.