Energy advice: Keeping cool this summer

Our energy advice service team provides support to people in Greater Manchester and Lancashire, whatever the season.

Here, the team has some helpful advice on how to stay cool this summer…

This summer, temperatures are soaring at record highs with the Met Office forecasting above average August temperatures.

British homes are built to keep the heat in, which is posing a problem that’s not often experienced by British homeowners – overheating.

Research warns that a shocking 80 per cent of British homes now overheat in the summer.  Overheating can lead to discomfort, sleep disruption, fatigue, and headaches.

These extreme temperatures affect some people more than others, including those:

• Who are disabled
• Who have chronic health conditions
• Who are pregnant
• Who are menopausal
• Who are elderly
• Who are experiencing homelessness
• Who take certain medications, including antidepressants
• Who are babies or young children

If you or someone in your house is vulnerable, and you aren’t registered on your energy suppliers’ Priority Services Register, please get in touch with our team.

The effects of overheating can present serious problems.  Make yourself aware of the symptoms to look out for on the NHS website.

According to the Met Office, there were more than 2,700 excess deaths estimated in England and Wales during May and June heatwaves.

Therefore, it’s important that homeowners maintain a comfortable, cool temperature of 18*C to 20*C in their home.

Free tips to keep your house cool:

• Only open your windows if the temperature outside is cooler than the temperature inside your house.  If the temperature outside is cool, open the windows to increase air flow and ventilation.  Where possible, open multiple windows to allow cross-ventilation.  You can find cheap insect mesh nets to cover your windows, if needed.
• Keep your blinds down and curtains drawn when the sun is beaming through a window, to prevent the whole room from heating up.  You can buy reflective sheets which cover your windows and keep the heat out of the room completely.
• Ensure your central heating system and radiators are completely switched off.  Sometimes, we forget that we have programmed and timed our heating system to come on during certain times in the winter, and forget to adjust this for the summer.
• Ensure that ventilation systems including air vents aren’t covered.  This helps the flow of air through the house.  You can also use your kitchen extractor fan to remove hot air from the kitchen.
• Don’t cook when it’s the hottest part of the day.  Cooking on the hob or in the oven, especially in smaller kitchens, can cause the temperature in your house to rocket.  Why not make a cold dinner or do some meal prep while it is cooler in the evening?

Free tips to keep yourself cool and safe:

• Stay hydrated.  Drinking plenty of water will keep you hydrated and healthy during the summer heat.
• Make the most of your freezer. You can freeze hot water bottles to turn the water inside to ice, damp cloths, ice packs and water bottles to keep yourself nice and cool.  It’s good to have refreshing frozen treats in too, which will keep you hydrated and cool, such as ice lollies.  You can also use ice packs wrapped in towels as free cooling pads for your pets, too.
• Go to a café, library, or community centre that has air conditioning away from home.  There are many cool spaces available for you to escape the heat and stay safe.

Low-cost tips to keep your house cool:

• Make use of fans.  Whilst fans don’t reduce the overall temperature of the house, they do push cold air around the house which keeps people cooler and safer.  There are some cheaper fans – around £20 to £30 – on the market.  Remember, if you’re buying second hand fans, make sure they are PAT tested.  Fans typically cost around 1-2 pence per hour, so they aren’t as expensive to run as you may imagine.
• Make use of air coolers. Air coolers are like fans, but they cool water from a water tank which is evaporated and can send a cooling mist around the room.  Note that these work best in dry heat and may not be appropriate for houses with damp and mould issues.

Long-term investments to keep your house cool:

• Air-to-air source heat pumps draw warm air out of your house and keep your house cool.  Whilse these are a substantial initial investment for property owners, they’re an efficient and renewable energy source.  Some of these units can also provide heating during the winter months.
• Investing in insulation measures can help keep your home cool.  Most types – certainly external wall and likely also cavity wall – stop heat from entering the property in the first place.

If you have any concerns about keeping your house a safe temperature this summer, or would like some advice from our team, please get in touch.  We can discuss your individual circumstances and help you consider options, potential schemes and relevant grants, with tailored one-to-one advice.

Contact us on 0161 205 2754 or by emailing energyadvice@caritassalford.org.uk and one of our advisors will assist.  

You can read more about our energy advice service by clicking here now too.