New build flat is boiling hot. Feeling depressed

[FTBregret]

Just bought my first home, a small flat in London. Only just got keys last week and I hate it due to how disgustingly hot it is. Really regret it and feel so stupid for not knowing new build flats get this hot

So far I’ve removed all carpets (will only have laminate floors) all windows left shut during the day and kept all curtains closed to block out sunlight. Also tried fan with icy water in front and barely helped.

It’s still unbearably hot, thermostat currently showing 30°

I’m scared the worse is yet to come as I know it gets hotter in London and if we have a heatwave I will have to get an Airbnb or something.

I haven’t even got furniture yet so that will likely make it hotter too when I properly move in. How will I ever use the oven?

I’ve been looking at air con but as I’m leasehold with Clarion it’s very unlikely the split AC will get accepted. There is another type of water air con but looking at quotes it’s 5k which I can’t afford.

I’ve looked at portable AC but I only have hinge windows and hinge balcony doors (apparently it’s supposed to be for sliding doors??)

How are londoners in new build flats coping?

Yes! I just looked up the building regs. I don't know who spends money or who gets paid to devise this stuff, but it doesn't make any difference in reality. If you live in a small single aspect flat, I cannot see any benefit. Maybe they put a bit less glass in. But they certainly haven't in my one.

What we really needed was central air-conditioning.

i say this as someone who runs cold so there is benefit in the winter. But at the moment the balcony door is open and it's 24° in here still. It is a bit nuts. I imagine south facing neighbours have got 26.

I lived in a new build rented place before buying my current flat and it's the one reason I didn't want a new build, they're really horrid in summer!

I used to put my pillowcase in the freezer then fridge, a Dyson fan and blinds closed all day and windows open on an evening.

Do check your lease about the flooring!

Another problem can be if the new build is on a brownfield site or office redevelopment and it is on a noisy road or even worse next to a railway line. Then it's too noisy to even open the windows. In my job I comment on planning applications and always ask for the hvac strategy, but it's often ignored by planners...

Oh I feel your pain I lived in one a flat not even in London im the north and when that heatwave hit a couple
of years ago I actually thought I would die. I filled hot water bottles and put them in the freezer to put under mine and DD’s pillows. I even took us to restaurant one night and kept getting small plates just to stay in the air con. It was unbearable. Live in a cooler place now but can get cold in winter so I moan about that now.

I have a portable AC unit and I just wedge the vent in an open window without a fixing kit etc, it really doesn’t make that much difference just having it with the window slightly open!

If the screens would be on the outside of the building (assume so!), the OP needs to check her lease first and/or check with the managing agent as it’s highly likely that she isn’t allowed to attach anything to the outside of the property without the freeholder’s permission. Same as the laminate flooring!

Given the OP has only just bought the flat, she should be very familiar with the contents of her lease but it sounds like she may have signed the paperwork without reading the leasehold agreement and understanding what she’s committing herself to.

We have a portable AC (bought when we lived in London). Vent it out of a window (doesn’t need a huge gap). Absolute game changer and wouldn’t be without it now.

It’s this one - useful video on link

amzn.eu/d/5kKvGVQ

We lived in a new build flat a few years ago and it was impossible in the summer. Temp were over 35 in the afternoon. We moved, this was the only solution. Your only option is the portable air-conditioning. I warn you its noisy and its not the same as a regular air con, but if they dont let you install proper one, this would be the only thing to bring the temp down.

Also, yes. You should keep curtains closed but open all windows so you get a it of draft which also makes a bit of fresh air get inside.

I now live in a new built house and its the same in our living room but we got an air-conditioning and its fine.

This. We have one and have only ever had hinge windows!

Portable air con unit all day long you won’t regret it by the sounds of it.

We had to change our black out blinds to thermal black out blinds which are kind of honeycomb shaped to trap heat which helped massively.
And those upright fans with ice blocks in them are great too.

North-facing shared-ownership new build London flat here too! I also only have windows on one side of my flat. Same problem as you, it’s always hot inside from Spring onwards. Because of the buildings around us even with windows wide open we don’t get a decent breeze. Like one of the previous posters I have found that there are two windows which if I open at the same time they seem to suck more air through. I don’t open the windows fully overnight for security reasons. Thanks for this thread, I might try A/C too. Congratulations on your new flat, despite this you’ll soon appreciate all the benefits of a new build flat - I love the warmth in winter, the ease of cleaning & your balcony is going to be great for growing tomatoes! :)

Honestly OP, do get a portable AC. We have a loft conversion and dithered about it so much last year, until it cooled down again. This year we bit the bullet and just bought one as soon as it got hot and it's amazing. I was put off by thinking it might not work with our windows, but you can get window kits and tbh as long as the hose is out the window it really helps. Good luck!

We've got one of these. It's noisy, but oh so wonderful. It isn't a fitted one, it just has a fat hose that you stick out of the window.

If the floors are concrete, which they may be in a modern flat, laminate will make no difference.

Open all windows to ventilate for half an hour every day while not too hot outside. Keep the windows slightly open if not too hot outside. Put bowls of cold water on window sills so incoming air is cooled.

Can you have your windows open slightly? Mine had fully closed or almost closed options and they were permanently on the almost closed. With the trickle vents at the top open too, there was a good amount of airflow through.
Keeping blinds closed during the day when it's sunny will help too.

Portable ac are great for cooling. I utterly hate it but partner ran ours at 16 degrees was awful i had 2 duvets on. Can shove out window or into corrdi

We have a portable air con unit, it s really noisy, couldn’t sleep with it on tbh.

Solar film. We had it installed on large south facing patio doors and windows and it has been amazing. Like you I was really upset that our beautiful new space was so hot which I stupidly hadn't expected. The solar film reflects heat and UV. Where it was 32 degrees last summer (yet 24 outside!), it's now 22ish. Fabulous stuff, but not cheap.

I’m going to second ceiling fans (if you can and you don’t just have recessed lights which seem popular in new builds for energy reasons) . Ugly but do make a big difference to the feel of a room. You can also get heat control window film which can be surprisingly effective.

AC works but it pumps the hot air onto the streets contributing to the warming of cities. It is also a heavy energy use appliance so used as a last resource rather than your first go to.

As others are saying, the heat must be coming from somewhere. It's only 20 degrees out. Your flat can't be MAKING heat, unless it's some sort of nuclear reactor.

You seem unsure if your heating is on or off. That's the first thing to check!

Do you have any practical friends/parents who can talk to you about things like heating and ventilation?

Air con is really energy hungry.

You want proper ceiling fans. They move a lot of air, they're very effective. Environmentally friendly and cheap to run. Modern ones can be very quiet.

https://www.lampandlight.co.uk/ceiling-fan-black-with-wood-131-5cm-incl-led-dimmable-with-remote-control-jerri?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=19257470283&utm_content=&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19257508074&gbraid=0AAAAADiF89fRJYz3uCHbSzexeKcvdtCeI&gclid=CjwKCAjwi-DBBhA5EiwAXOHsGXKm0b-NAn0jcZ54trsrCALvZxXcAJaECWv7_ykRiMslBxgtIRxhGxoC_iUQAvD_BwE

Are you an EHO by any chance? @ImRonBurgandy