To keep all the doors and windows closed in hot weather

[feellikeahugefailure]

My house is well insulated. Its far warmer outside than inside.

So its not crazy to just keep everything shut right?

[GabsAlot]

i heard as above you open them at night and close during the day in hotter climates dont know if it works here

[ginghamstarfish]

I keep windows open on the locking vent position all the time, to allow air flow from downstairs to upstairs, and all curtains/blinds closed on the sunny side. Our bedrooms are dormer rooms and was expecting it to be hot but it's been fine like this.

[Thurlow]

We kept everything shut and the curtains closed yesterday and it felt like it made a real difference, the house definitely wasn't 30 degrees when we came in.

There's not much breeze at all the catch where we are, so I'm thinking if the air inside in the morning is 24 degrees, and the air outside is getting up to 32 degrees, why let it in to just warm up the house?

[Fomalhaut]

Depends on the house itself - if can get a cross breeze through then shut blinds and open windows. If you're just letting hot air in then no point.
Our house has a heat pump and can be set to reverse the ventilation at nights - cooler air pumped in and hot internal air pumped out.
I usually close the blinds (thermal) on the sunny side of the house and follow the sun - windows open on the shaded side.

[EllyMayClampett]

Now reading
30.5C outside
25.6 inside

Eventually the outside temperature will peak and go down and it will make sense to open up the house, but probably not until 5pm!

[AndroidAddict]

It's saying 27℃ on my weather app. Our doors, windows and curtains are all closed at home. When I went in about an hour or so ago it was lovely and cool. The dc didn't like it though so we've come out. We're in an air-conditioned play area so it's the best of both worlds!

[NeedACleverNN]

It has hit 30 degrees now. Will rise to 32 by 4

[justwondering72]

Spending the summer in the south of France, with temps up to 37 degrees these days... We do as the locals do. Open the shutters and windows in the morning when it's cooler, enjoy being outside, then come 1130 shut down everything down and retreat to the cool. Sometimes we sacrifice the front room to easy outdoor access for kids, but keep the rest of the house firmly closed up. Then come 8pm and dinner time we'll open everything up again.

It took us a few years to get the hang of this : coming from Scotland where the natural tendency is to throw the windows open to 'let a breeze in' we eventually worked out it was the equivalent of sitting in front of a fan oven, circulating heat to every corner of the house!

[PollyPerky]

This is hardly an AIBU post OP!

Do what you want!

The correct way- as discussed on radio, often - is this:

Close curtain or blinds and windows when the sun shines into those rooms. This keeps the heat out.

Reverse this as the sun moves round the house.

As the sun sets, and none is coming in your windows, open all windows and doors, if safe, to allow air to go through.

Do not open windows when the sun is shining into that room, because the air outside is hot and will make your house hotter.

[RiverTam]

I've tried not opening the windows but the house gets so stuffy and airless. I daresay it'd be marginally cooler if I did but I don't want to be in a warm fug!

[LyndaNotLinda]

You need to keep windows and curtains closed - otherwise you turn your house into a greenhouse

[tofutti]

I've definitely heard that it's better to keep windows closed, especially at nightime. It's warmer outside than inside.

Curtains are kept closed too.

[tofutti]

Guardian article on sleep hygiene

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

I'd die if I kept my doors and windows closed. I keep blinds down though. If I open my front door it catches any breeze there is which is lovely.

[Threepineapples]

Yes I do the keeping things closed on the sunny side until the sun moves round, then reverse

One heavy duty fan upstairs and one downstairs.

We camped out downstairs last night and I think we will again tonight, it's much more pleasant.

[marblestatue]

On a day like this, I open the windows early in the morning to let cool air in. Then close them by about 10am and shut the blinds/curtains as much as possible. Use a fan to keep the air circulating. Open blinds/curtains/windows again in the evening. Don't let the hot air in and it stays noticeably cooler.

[StickTheDMWhereTheSunDontShine]

I just have the windows (one back, one front) open the tiniest crack during the day, with back upstairs curtains shut if the kids will let me (they often have other ideas) and the kitchen blinds tilted to reflect the light back out again. Having the window on the north side open upstairs seems to stop it from getting too hot up there.

Once the sun isn't shining directly on the back windows any more, the kitchen window gets thrown open wide and the living room window locked open a crack to allow air through. We have a small ioniser fan which seems to do a good job of counteracting the pollen problem this introduces.

[CatNip2]

I have tried the doors, windows, blinds closed etc

For us, in our North facing house, I find conservatory closed off properly, blinds all down, but windows all open a little bit to let any air circulate and allow a breeze to run through the house works best.

The only massive failure is the loft conversion which despite being properly insulated with three 3 Velux, Building Regulation compliance, blackout blinds etc is currently 31 degrees.

[LowDudgeon]

I've got everything closed & 5 fans going (both downstairs rooms, either end of landing & 1 in attic)

Coming inside is still blissfully cool so far (but I'm up north, it's 'only' 29 here!)

CatNip our attic is original - Victorian terrace - but we recently had the house reroofed & heavily insulated, with 4 small Veluxes, & it's still far hotter than I'd like. Much better than it used to be though

[LowDudgeon]

we have no North-facing windows

[WaitrosePigeon]

Currently windows open/curtains shut but may change it to windows closed/curtains shut tomorrow see if that helps

[elfycat]

We're sitting in the living room (we did the extension 2 years ago and the insulation levels were over-spec) with the velux black-out blinds down and 2/5th of the window shuttered (the sunny side).

It's about 5 degrees cooler in here than outside and we have the doors shut. Cool still air is just fine.

Upstairs will be a nightmare (as with CatNip it's a loft conversion with south facing velux, blinds drawn but still roasting).

[P1nkP0ppy]

It's blowing a gale here as well as being very sunny. I've had to close the front windows because it was like being in a wind tunnel 😃
House is beautifully cool though one blessing for living on the top of a hill

[throckenholt]

I open all the windows first thing in the morning to flush out the air, then once it warms up outside I close all the curtains/windows on the sunny side of the house, and as the sun moves round I close all the curtains on the other side. Once it cools down again then I open up all the windows and curtains on the shady side.

In theory - yesterday it didn't cool down and my room was 24C overnight, and then this morning it was lovely and cool outside but stank of chicken sheds because the local farm had opened its sheds up for ventilation :( - that smell makes me retch.

[AKAmyself]

That's exactly what people in Southern Europe do. If a house is well insulated, you keep windows closed during the day to keep the heat out, just as you would to keep the cold out. Open them at night when it's cooler.