Have you converted the attic in your house and use it as a home office, TV lounge or bedroom? Or do you own the condominium on the top floor of the house? Then you've sweated a few more times than you'd like in the last few weeks. With our 8 tips for hot summers (or late summers) you can lower the temperatures under the roof. Only a little, but ...
Converted attics and flats in the attic are susceptible to higher room temperatures in summer. On one hand, the sun shines long and intensely on the roof and heats the rooms below. On the other hand, the accumulated warm air from the apartments on the lower floors rises upwards and additionally heats the indoor air. Furthermore, the heat under the roof is stored for a long time and persists during the night, even when it cools down outside.
Ventilate early in the morning or late at night when the air outside is cooler. Cross-ventilation is more efficient than push-ventilation, push-ventilation is much more efficient than tilt-ventilation. That's why you should open opposite windows whenever possible, so that the cool air passes through the whole attic or the whole attic flat. Ventilate longer than in winter: 20 to 25 minutes in the morning and 20 to 25 minutes at night.
The best way to protect yourself from the heat is to block it out. With external sun protection, for example external roller shutters, window shutters, venetian blinds or marquee, you reduce the heat by more than 90 percent. If you want to darken the room completely, install a roller shutter, for example in the bedroom. If you need daylight in the home office or TV lounge, an awning made of transparent fabric is a sensible alternative.
Until the sun protection is installed, you can clamp an aluminium blanket or a dark and opaque fabric from the outside into the window frame to protect yourself.
Blinds or roller blinds on the inside of the window do not provide sufficient protection, as the solar energy has already penetrated the room through the glass and heats up the air. However, they supplement the sun protection from the outside. With an interior blind, for example, you can darken the room if you have installed a transparent marquee as sun protection from the outside.
You can attach a dark and opaque fabric to the inside of the window frame with Velcro. However, this will keep out less heat than if you fasten it on the outside.
A large and permanently installed air conditioner is expensive and consumes a lot of electricity. For the really hot summer days, a mobile air conditioner is worth considering, which is set up freely in the room and provides cooling. However, even smaller mobile air conditioners consume a relatively large amount of energy and in the worst case even give off more heat than they cool the room.
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With a ceiling fan, stand fan or table fan, you can move the hot air that is stuck under the roof. If you place ice, cooling elements from the cooler bag or chilled water bottles in front of the fan, the coolness is better distributed in the room. Depending on the temperature, you should change the ice, cooling elements or water bottles every two to four hours.
Without a ventilator you can place the cooling elements or ice on the cupboard, for example. As soon as the upper layers of air cool down, the air circulates and the room temperature drops.
It couldn't be simpler: hang up damp towels or bed sheets. As soon as they dry, they draw energy from the air, which is why the room temperature drops slightly. It is important that the fabrics absorb and store water well. Cotton fabrics and fabrics with a high cotton content are best suited for this and acrylic is not at all. You can increase the effect if you distribute the evaporative cooling evenly in the room with a fan.
Alternative: Distribute small bowls of water in the attic or in the attic flat. This also lowers the room temperature, but only minimally.
All electrically powered devices heat up when they are switched on, even in stand-by mode, and heat up the air in the room. Therefore, switch off the computer, the TV or the air conditioner when you are not using them. The best thing to do is to unplug them.
If possible, remove all carpets, which are so wonderfully warming in winter. Smooth floors made of wood or, better still, stone, store the heat energy from the air in summer and ensure cooler temperatures. That is why stone floors are so widespread in the south, for example marble.
