There are many ways to combat overheating in your property. All of which can help reduce the effects of overheating at home.
• The easiest and fastest way to have an immediate impact on overheating is to limit and control heat within your home. This is done by reducing internal gains. To you and me, this means switching off appliances when not in use (i.e. TV) and lights in unoccupied rooms.
• Another quick fix is to help ventilate your home. You can achieve this by opening windows when using the bathrooms, kitchen and utility rooms. However, only do this when temperatures outside are cooler than inside. Keeping windows and blinds/curtains closed during the hot times of the day will also have an effect.
• Thermal mass. Now this is slightly more ‘hardcore’ than the methods above. In a nutshell, it means that the materials you use to build your home can have a huge impact on controlling heat within the home. Choosing the correct materials can delay heat flow through the building by as much as 10 to 12 hours. In turn, this produces a warmer home at night in winter, and a cooler home during the day in summer.
• Minimising the effect of solar radiation into the home by installing tinted / heat reflective glazing or a shading device over the windows.
• You can also reduce the external temperatures surrounding your home by adding green spaces (e.g. planting specific tree varieties) and also by using water features such as ponds or fountains.