DH won’t believe that we should keep the windows closed

[ThatLassFromLeeds]

With the heatwave predicted, DH and I have come back to our annual argument about keeping the house cool.

I think that once the air outside is hotter than you want your house to be, you should close the windows. I also keep the curtains closed when the sun is shining on the windows.

DH insists that you keep the house cool by having the windows and curtains open.

He says the air coming in cools the house down. I say that it feels cool because it’s moving when it touches your skin, but after a certain point it’s actually hotter than the air in the house.

He insists on doing it his way, and the house is always boiling. One day recently was really hot and I closed the curtains before going out for the day; when we came back it was nice and cool inside, but DH still won’t believe me that that was why. He says my way just doesn’t make sense.

What would you do? Is this the hill I need to die on?

Curtains closed on the sunny side with windows open. On the shaded side curtains and windows open. Watch the sun and follow it around drawing curtains to when ever the sun is on the window.

DH insists that you keep the house cool by having the windows and curtains open

He's wrong. If he doesn't believe you, he could look online:

Beat the heat: staying safe in hot weather - GOV.UK

'keep your home cool by closing windows and curtains in rooms that face the sun'

Yes, curtains closed. I do usually keep the windows open, but now you've said it...... 😂

Curtains closed when the sun is shining on the windows. To prove that point, ask him to stand in a greenhouse over the next few days, see if he lasts 5 minutes!

Windows open at evening/night/early morning and open in many/all rooms when not asleep with doors propped open to catch a draft through the house. Fans in front of open windows helps too or in front of bowls of ice for bonus points. But close the windows when the outside is hotter than the inside (during the day). Would you leave the oven door open spewing heat into the kitchen? Same principle, just differences in the relative range of temperatures

I always keep the curtains closed.

The windows I’m never quite sure but I like the fresh air and so usually keep the upstairs windows open a crack all year round.

I open them wide in the evenings though.

He’s an idiot who doesn’t understand basic physics.

Yes, you’re technically right but I hate not having windows open or the breeze through.

Same. I can’t stand sitting in the dark with the curtains shut and windows shut. So depressing. And yes I can’t stand the heat. I open the windows but have a big fan going full blast all day.

I understand the theory, but I'm sat in my living room, which is the sun until midday and now in the shade, but has had windows and curtains open all day, and its's lovely and cool. If the breeze only "feels" nice, that's fine by me!

I think this is actually what it is for him, but it ends up with the house roasting!

If he could explain how his system works I wouldn’t mind so much, but it basically comes down to him “feeling” like it’s cooler, which doesn’t help the rest of us!

I’m enjoying a lovely breeze blowing through my house at the moment. It’s not the window open that makes my study warm. It’s the fact it’s in the top of the house and basically in the roof. No amount of keeping a window closed is going to keep this room cool so I’d rather have the fresh breeze.

I'm not convinced the air outside is ever warmer than in my home. The theory is sound though.

I use an aircon with the hose out of a window, people tell me that won't witk because the outside air will fill the room, yet it is cool in here.

Use a thermometer? Air temp outside somewhere shady versus house air temp.

Which have released their annual thing about this, hang on, I'll see if I can find it (he's wrong by the way!).

I think the other issue is that it’s not too bad while a breeze is flowing through the room, but it’s once the sun has moved on and there’s no breeze, the place is still roasting, whereas if the curtains have been closed all day then the room is nice and cool.

The living room is the one that gets really hot, but we don’t use it much during the day (in the week at least), so having the curtains closed isn’t really an issue.

Here it is
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DY1SDzfI9g1/?igsh=cDV0b2tsajg4ZjQ4

We close windows and curtains and as soon as it starts to cool in the evening we open everything up

Agree with others, curtains closed but windows open, 100% curtains closed though, how on earth does he imagine the sun blasting in the windows is going to make the place cooler??

I don’t think either I understand your logic but the air moving through actually cools the house, your way it will not be nice and cool, there is zero chance of that.

i agree with the posters who said closed blinds where the sun is on that side of the house, on the side in the shade, open them and open the windows.

right mow where I am there is a strong breeze which is cooling the house down. The windows will be fully open till it’s dark and bed time, the house will be cool and then bed time the fan on and the windows open with the blinds closed.

Did your husband never do Science at school? That’s the only reason for him bringing do dim.

Why does he think all houses in hot countries have shutters?!

It definitely is here right now. I have a very well insulated, modern, house. Significantly warmer in winter and cooler in summer than my previous 1930’s house was. I came into the cool house from the garden just now as it was too hot even in the shade.

if you have an actual air con unit, not just a fan, it cools the air as it come in, similar to a fridge.

Temperature equalises if the windows are open. So the heat will go into the house. A breeze doesn’t stop the house heating up.
This is why houses in hot countries have shutters . They close ALL windows and shutters during the hottest part of the day.

This is excellent, thank you! I’m not sure he’ll believe it though 😂

Get an internal thermometer and prove your point. DH was the same as yours until he could actually see it getting hotter as soon as he opened the windows. Now we sit in the dark until it is cooler outside 😁

For me windows open, even if it makes it hotter, I need fresh air!