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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To get air con in our loft room

104 replies

Pollyforever · 24/06/2022 07:09

After another night where I've hardly slept because of the heat I'm desperate. Our room is in the loft conversion and is insulated to a ridiculous extent to comply with building regs. It makes it unbearable in this heat. We've resisted getting air con because of its high use of electricity but I don't know what else we can do now to get some sleep! We've got two high powered fans but last night they barely made a difference. You can feel the heat like a blanket as you come up the stairs. Any ideas other than air con? Anyone got air con in a loft room?

OP posts:
Whitney168 · 24/06/2022 13:00

LilacPoppy · 24/06/2022 12:56

Are you all in the U.K. the highest our bedrooms get are 28/29 degrees so not too hot. How hot are people’s rooms that they need air con?

If you can sleep in a bedroom at 28/29 degrees, you're doing better than me - anything about 24 would have me awake all night. 16-18 degrees far better in a bedroom.

MyNameIsAngelicaSchuyler · 24/06/2022 13:08

Are you opening windows / curtains during the day? That’s an easy way to keep the room cooler . We keep all ours shut until the sun is down and air outside is cooler, then open up the house to get colder air circulating during the evening. Loft stays lovely and cool with this method and no need for expensive air con.

EmmaH2022 · 24/06/2022 13:18

LilacPoppy · 24/06/2022 12:56

Are you all in the U.K. the highest our bedrooms get are 28/29 degrees so not too hot. How hot are people’s rooms that they need air con?

Even my elderly mum who wears 4 layers would struggle with an air temp that high!

OP I have a rant thread going for (small) flat dwellers. If you can install air con, just do!

JudyGemstone · 24/06/2022 13:22

I’m in the process of getting my loft done now, my son has been sleeping up there for the last few years and has both windows open with 2 fans.

My partner is fussing already about the heat but I’ve told him no way do I want to shell out for air con for what’s probably only a few weeks out of the year. If he doesn’t like it he can sleep on the sofa, personally I don’t mind the heat

Quartz2208 · 24/06/2022 13:26

Loft extensions do definitely go hotter - but yes in the current heatwave I am sure it went higher than 28/29 degrees but with no air (even with windows open).

I love sleeping in the cold (I will have a window open and no heating in my bedroom even in winter it takes below freezing for me to shut the window) and 16-18 is the ideal

So far it has only been needed when we went into the level 3 heatwave otherwise it can be managed. It was worth it for that though

We are funny with aircon though mainland Europe has it as standard

cocomelonmum · 24/06/2022 13:30

If you are in Kent I can recommend a really nice family-run company who installed ours!

mumofone2019 · 24/06/2022 13:37

This reply has been withdrawn

This post has been withdrawn at the poster's request due to privacy concerns.

BotCrossHuns · 24/06/2022 13:46

If anyone has has it installed in new build flats, I'd be interested in how you went about it, what sort you got, etc.

I have a small new build flat, lots of glass, no cross breeze, ground floor.
I have no idea if I could get permission to drill holes in the wall - not convinced, but possible. I have a small patio area on the side of the road that is never used, just sort of decorative, but it might be big enough to fit the outdoor part of the unit in, as long as there is nothing that can be vandalised or anything. But I have no idea about indoors.

I dont know how to tell what is above the ceiling. I'd love a ceiling unit instead of a wall unit as there's so little wall space! Also, the bedroom and lounge share a wall (there are basically only two rooms!), so I wondered if I could get something put on or in the wall that could then vent into both rooms, or if they'd each need a separate heavy unit. The walls are only plasterboard I think, but not sure what frame is underneath if anything. I'd really like something small and unobtrusive, as the flat is so small, and all the units seem so big.

Any other location for the wall units would be quite a distance from the outside wall unit - what do they do with the piping etc, can they feed it through the walls and around corners etc? Put it through the ceiling? Can they find out what is in the ceiling or walls before they give you a quote? Do they have to cut out bits of plasterboard like they did when I had a radiator moved? That would mean a lot of redecoration afterwards I guess. But would possibly be worth it if it cooled it off.

How much have you found it adds to your electricity? Obviously it varies hugely on size of property, how many units, how hot is is etc, but has it been a massive change or not too bad? Worse than the portable units?

anyone recommend any companies in east of england?

ToastofLandon · 24/06/2022 13:56

I spent £450 last week on a portable unit and it’s honestly been worth every penny. A portable unit might be better than forking out thousands on a full system.

CraftyGin · 24/06/2022 13:59

We installed an air-sourced heat pump when we had our loft conversion done. In the winter, it's used for heating, so we don't need any radiators.

TBH, we can get away with not using the A/C for more than a few nights a year, as there is a good flow-through of air from front to back. But it's nice to know that we can.

Glittertwins · 24/06/2022 14:04

We had an electrical spur point put into ours when built then we forgot when the new wardrobes got installed over the top 🙄

We generally open up the windows front and back / shut the door to get the air blowing through although that doesn't help when it's raining. We can certainly feel the temperature difference on the stairs between the original house and loft.

ShirleyPhallus · 24/06/2022 14:40

MyNameIsAngelicaSchuyler · 24/06/2022 13:08

Are you opening windows / curtains during the day? That’s an easy way to keep the room cooler . We keep all ours shut until the sun is down and air outside is cooler, then open up the house to get colder air circulating during the evening. Loft stays lovely and cool with this method and no need for expensive air con.

This absolutely does not work for us, the hot air just gets trapped at the top

mrsmoppp · 24/06/2022 15:44

I'm currently in a lift room and its unbearable in this heat. Can't leave open the velux either as the sun shines right in. We are moving soon but if I was staying would deffo be getting air con

MsFannySqueers · 24/06/2022 16:02

Glad you are getting some air con sorted OP. I agree with PP about hot air getting trapped in a loft room. The same thing happens with our loft bedroom it’s unbearable. No amount of door/windows open downstairs or upstairs make any difference. I never open the blinds in the bedroom it makes no difference still unbearably hot.It’s one of the many reasons I want to move house. Anyone thinking of having a loft conversion should get air con installed during the work. We can’t retro fit now and due to design of windows can’t use a portable air con.

Pollyforever · 24/06/2022 16:40

@cocomelonmum we're the other end of the country but thank you for the offer!
We have French windows on the rear and a veluw on the front so we keep them open and it makes no difference. We've got thermal blinds and they make no difference. It's as if all the heat from the house just gets trapped up there! I'm 100% going to get air con after this thread! So thank you everyone!

OP posts:
Roselilly36 · 24/06/2022 16:59

Two properties ago our bedrooms were in the loft, freezing cold in winter, boiling hot in summer, never again. This property was built to this design, not converted etc, but wasn’t any good for temperature control. I don’t like fans or air con in beds noisy and drying. Solar panels and battery back up, is excellent and is saving us so much on our bills, £10k+ investment, but worth it.

sowarmhere · 24/06/2022 22:11

For those who have portable units that they are happy with, are you able to say which make and model? We're a bit skint so worried to fork out and find we have stumbled across a rubbish one!

Also is sealing the window a right faff? Is it the sort of thing that you can quickly do across different rooms and move the unit about? Or is it more realistic to give it a more permanent home in one spot?

We wanted to use it to cool the nursery and then whip it away before letting our son run in and rag it about (as he does everything he can get his hands on!)

BotCrossHuns · 24/06/2022 22:22

Mine is a deLonghi Pinguino. It's supposed to be one of the best and quietest ones. But it still doesn't completely cool the room - I find I want to stand right in front of it, and then it's good! That's why i'm still looking at getting something installed that might be more powerful and get to all the rooms. But that's probably my flat being very hot.

The window seal stuff you can buy online at amazon etc, and you could put it on any windows you want - they kits aren't expensive and you could get one per window. You'd leave the velcro on all the time, really, as it would possibly damage paint/wood to keep peeling it off, but you can if you're careful If you get it the right colour, you don't see it too much . Then you put the seal on that. It's a faff to do it alone, but if you had someone else to hold the bits or if you are taller, it's probably a doddle. You can take the fabric bit down when you're not using it, so that it looks nicer. Frankly ,I don't bother - I just leave the fabric up all summer. You can still close the window around it. It looks a bit tatty, but I pull the blinds down.

You wouldn't want to move the unit around too much, as it's very heavy, but you can - it's on wheels, so if you have a hard floor, it's not too bad. Some of them have water trays to empty etc, but the delonghi one doesn't.

It's fairly noisy; I find it hard to hear on the phone/zoom, but the people on the other end dont' hear it. You wouldn't specially want to watch TV with it on, but you can if you turn it up a bit. You get used to it for sleeping easily, and the white noise is nice.

The Pinguino is one of the most epxensive ones, but I needed a very small one to fit in my flat, which this was. I also got it on an amazon primer or something like that, some price match maybe, which was much less than the normal price. So you might look throughout the year, not just in the summer.

updownleftrightstart · 24/06/2022 22:22

sowarmhere · 24/06/2022 22:11

For those who have portable units that they are happy with, are you able to say which make and model? We're a bit skint so worried to fork out and find we have stumbled across a rubbish one!

Also is sealing the window a right faff? Is it the sort of thing that you can quickly do across different rooms and move the unit about? Or is it more realistic to give it a more permanent home in one spot?

We wanted to use it to cool the nursery and then whip it away before letting our son run in and rag it about (as he does everything he can get his hands on!)

We have this one:
www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/ecosilent14hpw/electriq-ecosilent14hpw-portable-aircon-air-conditioner
We've only got the one unit and we move it between 3 rooms. We couldn't justify the thousands for permanent aircon, nor getting 3 large units that we'd have nowhere to store when they're not being used. It doesn't take that long really and is absolutely worth it for how much cooler it makes it. You get enough of the velcro tape for 3 windows easily, and it takes maybe 5-10 mins max to move it all. The main problem is how ridiculously heavy the unit is to move.

CraftyGin · 25/06/2022 07:57

Why are people advocating cumbersome portable units that don't do a great job.

A permanent air conditioner is attached to the outside wall of your house and requires high up wall space with a couple of holes drilled through the wall. It also provides heat in the winter.

Ohthatsexciting · 25/06/2022 08:13

CraftyGin · 25/06/2022 07:57

Why are people advocating cumbersome portable units that don't do a great job.

A permanent air conditioner is attached to the outside wall of your house and requires high up wall space with a couple of holes drilled through the wall. It also provides heat in the winter.

Because it worked for them 🙄

ShirleyPhallus · 25/06/2022 11:13

CraftyGin · 25/06/2022 07:57

Why are people advocating cumbersome portable units that don't do a great job.

A permanent air conditioner is attached to the outside wall of your house and requires high up wall space with a couple of holes drilled through the wall. It also provides heat in the winter.

Perm units are very expensive and not always practical in an attic room where you might not have a suitable outside surface to fix the unit too

Also lots of comments about how the portable units HAVE worked for them!

BotCrossHuns · 25/06/2022 11:42

and because the portable ones are sometimes the best that can be done in the moment. They are available immediately, don't need permission from freeholders, don't need complicated installation, don't cost as much ,etc.

I would ideally have a permanent fitted solution. If I could figure out how the practicalities worked, I would do it, despite some amount of expense (obviously there are limits!). The portable one I have is one of the best of the bunch, but still doesn't totally do what I need. It might suit someone else, though, whose flat isn't as hot or who have different types of windows, or who don't mind a bit of noise, etc. (actually mine is listed as having 'silent mode', which is very obviously not silent, but you can live with it) - that is the sort of feedback that other people considering it might find useful .

updownleftrightstart · 25/06/2022 11:50

CraftyGin · 25/06/2022 07:57

Why are people advocating cumbersome portable units that don't do a great job.

A permanent air conditioner is attached to the outside wall of your house and requires high up wall space with a couple of holes drilled through the wall. It also provides heat in the winter.

Because as I said previously, we couldn't afford the thousands that we were quoted for a permanent fitted solution.
Yes a permanent solution would no doubt be better, but this unit makes our house bearable, which it wasn't before. Some loft rooms also may not have high up wall space, some have sloped ceilings and somewhat restricted headheight and not all will be suitable for a permanent system

MyNameIsAngelicaSchuyler · 25/06/2022 11:54

ShirleyPhallus · 24/06/2022 14:40

This absolutely does not work for us, the hot air just gets trapped at the top

But then you open the windows / French doors and it all escapes and is replaced by cool evening / night air?!

air con is an environmental disaster.