To think buildings in the UK need to be adapted to this heat?

[Glaceonn]

I know I’m not alone in this, I wonder how it is in high rise flats? My flat is 40 degrees plus in some rooms. What is the answer though because air conditioning as standard would make environmental issues even worse.

There’s no air conditioning in hospitals, care homes, on the tube, buses as far as I know.

Some people simply can’t cope in this heat, I know I’m speaking from a biased viewpoint but I’m not the only one. I can’t remember the last time I wore a jacket in the day, so it’s not just ‘a few days of heat’ where I am.

It’s making me have panic attacks, there is barely any air. If it was extremely cold but we had no heating, we’d be able to expect our landlord to make the place warmer for us.

I’ve had one hour of sleep and can’t articulate my thoughts very well!

I was thinking this the other day. My friend lives in a 60s high rise, went for lunch the other day and it was absolutely horrendous.

Summers like this will get more common and longer.

I disagree!

Open all the windows at night by all means.

When the sun is glaring on them, SHUT them, close shutters, or at least indoors shutters and curtains if you have nothing else. Your room will stay much cooler if you close the windows. Don't open them until it's fresher outside.

Fans are useless, they just circulate hot air.

I am in South East London, we still use the summer duvets at night because it gets chilly (relatively ) early morning, from 2 to 3 am.
No need for air con here.

I live on the East Coast USA where we have long hot summers and long cold winters (less so than we used to). As we say, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." Unlike Spain, South Africa, California, and Sicily, it's teh moistness of the air that does one in. We had some very scoldy German guestsgotta love those Germanswho arrived on our doorstep one summer with a long list of questions about why Americans did everything wrong, inluding, "Why do you Americans use air conditioning when it is so bad for the environment?" After two days of 95 degree heat and 100 percent humidity, they were applied to our window units by the armpit like male anglerfish onto their mates for days. We could barely scrape them off to make them go anywhere else so they could find some fresh American to criticise.

True @coogee but I have visited friends’ houses in London where they have bars over their downstairs windows to prevent break-ins and shutters are much nicer than that. It’s second nature to shut them, like closing the windows and locking the door.

@2bazookas it only makes sense to open the windows when the air temperature is lower outside than indoors. So open windows at night and early morning and then keep them closed during the daytime to keep the cooler air in. I’ve got the window open next to me but shouldn’t really as it’s 28 in this room and 29 outside.

However, I did have a point. i don't think you can outbuild humidity. The adaptations that work for dry heat are of only limited utility with humidity. The one thing that is truly helpful is shade.

They can be a pain though because often the house insurance isn’t valid if they are left open when you go out. It is the same in France.

I am sure it's the same here when we leave windows opened, and we still do 🤷 (some of us do!)

It would still make so much more sense, in summer and winter.

Its a balancing act with windows. Open if it is cooler outside than in - but keep shaded so as not to be a greenhouse. Close as soon as its the same temp as outside.

Air conditioning is just going to make things worse - it’s terrible for the environment and it’s just a vicious circle.

It doesn’t ever get that hot in the U.K. anyway - not so hot that air con is a must - but it will be if we start using it all over the place.

Plus air con can be so uncomfortably cold - it’s got that reall “chill you to the bone” thing that just makes your body feel like you’ll never be warm again. Open a window, get a fan.

Today i have all windows open because there is FINALLY a breeze and it's beautiful. Blinds closed just the breeze coming through. Yesterday was bad compared to this

*PrincessNutella

I live on the East Coast USA where we have long hot summers and long cold winters (less so than we used to). As we say, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." Unlike Spain, South Africa, California, and Sicily, it's teh moistness of the air that does one in.

The first time I went to Sicily we got off the plane to 35°c and 90% humidity. At midnight.

But just to be clear, other less harmful mitigations to buildings by all means! I don’t want to see people roasting in hot flats of course.

We have no laws on house insurance and shutters here.
The wooden shutters are my favourite thing, apart from the heat, they also stop my Ds being woken up super early with the summer sunrise at 4am.

It's just a few days a year. Far more important to have good heating ! 10 days ago it was raining

Should add its 36 in my living room and 34 on my balcony. Very warm but it's going to break on Saturday

you can have both! Building adapted to heat and cold days.
You should have both. You could argue that England never gets that cold either.

I really don’t like this heat at all but I don’t buy an aircon unit because for the vast majority of the year I would have to find somewhere to store it which I really don’t have. It’s not worth the investment and similarly it would not be worth the investment of installing permanent aircon inside a U.K. house. It’s also absolutely terrible for the environment and I’m really not any sort of eco warrior. The amount of days a year it would be used just wouldn’t be worth it.

We have an Edwardian House, there's something to be said for these nice what would have been front parlours.
Lovely and cool, maybe that's why they laid the dead in them

@PrincessNutella

I live on the East Coast USA where we have long hot summers and long cold winters (less so than we used to). As we say, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." Unlike Spain, South Africa, California, and Sicily, it's teh moistness of the air that does one in. We had some very scoldy German guestsgotta love those Germanswho arrived on our doorstep one summer with a long list of questions about why Americans did everything wrong, inluding, "Why do you Americans use air conditioning when it is so bad for the environment?" After two days of 95 degree heat and 100 percent humidity, they were applied to our window units by the armpit like male anglerfish onto their mates for days. We could barely scrape them off to make them go anywhere else so they could find some fresh American to criticise.

I love this post! You way of writing really made me smile!! I can just imagine your German guests

I have a friend who has lived in a new build flat for several years. She’s never used the heating but she has had to buy an air conditioning unit. Really bad design - heat from the neighbours, glass patio doors, glass balcony, nothing shading the building. Her windows are all on one side as well so no air flow. Nightmare!

@GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing

Air conditioning is just going to make things worse - it’s terrible for the environment and it’s just a vicious circle.

It doesn’t ever get that hot in the U.K. anyway - not so hot that air con is a must - but it will be if we start using it all over the place.

Plus air con can be so uncomfortably cold - it’s got that reall “chill you to the bone” thing that just makes your body feel like you’ll never be warm again. Open a window, get a fan.

I have to disagree because I think it DOES get that hot in the UK for some of us. It would be nice to have the choice to be bone chillingly cold, I actually would love that at the moment. Just like we have the choice to be roasting in the Winter. Open windows and fans really don’t cut it in my flat 🥵

Houses used to be. Mine is some 250 years old and is always comfortably cool even in the current temperatures.

It must be stifling in the new builds though.

@gogohm

It's just a few days a year. Far more important to have good heating ! 10 days ago it was raining

Yes but rain doesn’t always mean it’s freezing cold, the last few times it’s rained I’ve stood out in it and found it a relief. And we do have good heating, it seems the UK is obsessed with keeping warm but not keeping cool when it can be just as horrible and even life threatening.

@PattyPan

I have a friend who has lived in a new build flat for several years. She’s never used the heating but she has had to buy an air conditioning unit. Really bad design - heat from the neighbours, glass patio doors, glass balcony, nothing shading the building. Her windows are all on one side as well so no air flow. Nightmare!

That sounds so awful!

My curtains have barely been opened the last week or so to try and keep some of the heat out. Soon though we'll all be moaning about how cold it is and how we can't wait for next summer to come!!

My forecast says there's 6 days of rain coming and it will be well below 30c for at least 8 days. So no, I'd much rather they focus on adequately heating houses. I'm sick to death of boilers and radiators that cost a fortune and don't properly heat houses. My Canadian friends are horrified at how we heat our houses here.