My boiling hot new-build flat was 30°C inside – until I discovered this £6.99 hack

When I moved into a new rented flat in June 2024, I thought that the temperature in my home wouldn’t be too much of an issue. I lived in Edinburgh, and we do have high temperatures during heatwaves, but the house was built in 2000, so surely this would have been considered at the time of construction? How wrong I was. I quickly discovered the flat was poorly ventilated, and I was living in what felt like an oven, with temperatures in the living room reaching 30°C the week after I moved in. This wasn’t sustainable for me, or my Cocker Spaniel, who, despite a massive groom to remove as much fur as possible, struggled to get comfortable in the house. I spent the next week researching solutions, because the house was unlivable.

Whenever you see solutions to hot homes, they often assume that the person living in the home can make changes such as installing shutters, improving ventilation or installing air conditioning. But in the UK, around 8.8 million households are renting, housing approximately 19-20 million people. Renters don’t have the luxury of changing their living space, and landlords often don’t want to make changes that cost money.

I am known for my thriftiness and famous among friends for not turning my central heating on for four years in a row. But I didn’t consider that the very thing that made my home less chilly in the winter – having neighbours above and below, placing me in a kind of warm sandwich – was the thing that was going to make summers so horrendously hot.

During my research, I discovered the best way to keep your home cool is to stop the heat from getting in the first place. The one thing that kept coming up again and again was window film to help block out the sun’s rays effectively. It seemed a bit gimmicky, but it was less than £7 a roll, was easy to apply and remove, and left no trace, so it would help me keep my security deposit. I ordered some and applied it the next day. You measure the size of the piece you want to cut, spray water on the film and your window so it will adhere, and squeegee it on with the attachment that comes with the film. It seemed almost too easy, but it lasted for weeks before any sign of the film lifting, and it was easy enough to stick down again with more water.

I also purchased grey thermal blackout curtains from Amazon for £19, which were promised to work both in the summer to keep heat out and in the winter to keep heat in. They weren’t particularly attractive, but at this point, I was happy to sacrifice aesthetics for the chance to sit in my own living room without melting into a puddle.

The positive effect after applying the window film and hanging the thermal curtains was almost immediate. The temperature dropped by 5°C on the first day, and the southwest-facing living room was no longer sweltering. I also discovered in my research that one thing I thought was helping was actually hindering my efforts – keeping the windows open. It is best to keep the windows and doors closed during the hottest part of the day, and to open them only first thing in the morning and in the evening, when it is much cooler.

In the morning, I open the living room window at the front of the flat and the kitchen window at the back, to allow a through draft. Then, before bed, I would open the windows again and keep my curtains open to allow the cool air free access. It made the nights much more comfortable, and there was no more sweaty tossing and turning to try and find a cool spot.

Fans are a great investment, but I couldn’t afford the Dyson fan that everyone on my social media seemed to have, so I focused on making my supermarket fans more effective. I had one fan for the dog, which I put a bowl of cold water in front of, meaning the air blowing out was cooler. I also found that placing a fan in front of an open window in the cooler part of the day drew cold air inside, which was really refreshing.

As a plant lover, I was delighted to discover that indoor greenery can act as a natural air conditioner. They release moisture into the air, which cools the air around the plants. I do not need an excuse for a trip to the garden centre, and stocked up on Aloe Vera, monstera and a rubber plant to help cool the flat.

Now, even on the hottest days of the year, the warmest my flat has gotten is 20°C, which is much more livable. The dog and I are happy, and I no longer have to worry about passing out from heat exhaustion just moving from room to room.

A lot of the best hot weather tips are trial and error, and you have to work out what’s best for you. I do know from experience that you don’t have to spend hundreds to try and keep yourself from overheating, and that things like a cool shower before bed are often more effective than a £400 fan.

المصدر: iNews