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Home: Assess your risk: Overheating - protecting your home 

How to adapt your home to minimise overheating

K. Use fans to provide a cooling breeze
  1. Loft insulation helps your home stay cool in summer as well as keeping it warm in winter
  2. A light coloured roof reflects more heat than darker colours. If you have a dark coloured flat roof, painting it with light or reflective paint will reduce heat absorption
  3. Shading south and west facing windows with shutters or awnings is very effective. If you don’t have shutters or awnings, closing the curtains when you are out can help protect a room from the sun
  4. Painting the outside of your walls with light reflective paint will help keep them cooler
  5. Fit low-energy lightbulbs: they give off less heat. Turn off appliances when they are not in use, and never leave items on standby
  6. Replacing downstairs carpets with wood or tiles will help keep you cool, especially if you have concrete floors
  7. If you have trees near your house, keep them – they provide shade during summer. Trees that lose their leaves are best, as they also let the light in during winter
  8. If you have a cavity wall, insulating it will help keep you cool in summer and warm in winter. (If you live in a flood risk area, make sure you use closed-cell insulation)
  9. Open your windows when it is colder outside than inside, especially at night, as this cools down the walls and roof as well as the air inside. This helps the rooms stay cool for longer the next day
  10. If you have windows that open both at the top and bottom (eg sash windows), open them so there’s a gap at the top and bottom. This affords the best cooling. If you are replacing windows, have this kind fitted
  11. Use fans to provide a cooling breeze

Which adaptations should I prioritise?

The following is a guideline for people wanting to adapt their home in several stages rather than all at once. The exact order you choose will depend on factors such as property type and cost, so you will need to assess the condition of your home and prioritise improvements.

  • Ventilation, opening windows
  • Fans to enhance air movement
  • Shading south and west facing windows, preferably using external shutters or awnings (but closing curtains and blinds helps)
  • Increasing wall reflectivity eg painting outside walls with light coloured or reflective paint
  • Floor coverings replacing ground floor carpets with tiles or wood (especially over a solid concrete floor)
  • Improving roof insulation and reflectivity:
    • loft insulation (depending on existing condition)
    • ventilating loft space
    • upgrading flat roofs for better insulation and light colour (depending on existing condition)
  • Upgrading windows to a design which allows better air movement (eg sash windows, which open top and bottom)
  • Improving wall insulation
A. Loft insulation helps your home stay cool in summer as well as keeping it warm in winter B. A light coloured roof reflects more heat than darker colours. If you have a dark coloured flat roof, painting it with light or reflective paint will reduce heat absorption C. Shading south and west facing windows with shutters or awnings is very effective. If you don’t have shutters or awnings, closing the curtains when you are out can help protect a room from the sun C. Shading south and west facing windows with shutters or awnings is very effective. If you don’t have shutters or awnings, closing the curtains when you are out can help protect a room from the sun D. Painting the outside of your walls with light reflective paint will help keep them cooler E. Fit low-energy lightbulbs: they give off less heat. Turn off appliances when they are not in use, and never leave items on standby F. Replacing downstairs carpets with wood or tiles will help keep you cool, especially if you have concrete floors G. If you have trees near your house, keep them – they provide shade during summer. Trees that lose their leaves are best, as they also let the light in during winter H. If you have a cavity wall, insulating it will help keep you cool in summer and warm in winter. (If you live in a flood risk area, make sure you use closed-cell insulation) I. Open your windows when it is colder outside than inside, especially at night, as this cools down the walls and roof as well as the air inside. This helps the rooms stay cool for longer the next day J. If you have windows that open both at the top and bottom (eg sash windows), open them so there’s a gap at the top and bottom. This affords the best cooling. If you are replacing windows, have this kind fitted K. Use fans to provide a cooling breeze