Long-term Solutions to Avoid Oveheating at Home
As we experience increasingly hot summers, it is becoming more important to consider how we keep cool as well as warm. Loft conversions and extensions designed to be very energy efficient, but may also be prone to overheating in the summer because they gain heat faster than they lose it.
Understanding the cause helps prevent the problem.
Solar Gain
Solar gain is the increase in temperature caused by sun shining directly on an area. It is amplified by materials that allow the radiant heat of the sun to be transmitted through them. For
Large-glazed doors or roof windows will transmit radiant solar heat more quickly than a well insulated brick wall.
This can be addressed by introducing external shading awnings, shutters, or more plant life to diffuse the heat of the sun on windows (and walls).
Different kinds of insulation affect the rate that heat moves from hot to cold areas.
One way your property stays cool is by absorbing heat into the brick walls and slowly releasing it over the course of a day rather than transmitting it all at once. Different materials retain and release heat differently. While some insulation is better than none, the material you choose will affect the effectiveness of your home’s indoor temperature in the summer heat.
Wood fibre insulation is one of the best materials that you can use to slow the migration of heat into your home.
Limited ventilation restricts airflow
This can be addressed by designing cross-ventilating and adequate ventilation.
Poor orientation
The orientation (North, East, South, West) of different elements of your home can amplify sunlight exposure (e.g. south facing rooms with large windows will get hotter more quickly than north facing rooms with small windows).
When making changes to your home such as an extension, loft conversion, or new windows, it is worth thinking about where the sun hits your home in the hottest parts of the year.
If you live in an area that has little greenery or shady areas your home will get hotter more quickly. The Urban Heat Island effect is caused by living in very dense areas filled with hard reflective surfaces, such as roofs, concreate walls and glass facades. The reflective quality of these surfaces causes the ambient temperature to rise because of solar gain.
Our Future Fit Homes Retrofit Service offers overheating surveys as well as a number of other services for homeowners to understand how to improve your home.
Overheating Survey
A Whole House Plan is a tailored report that draws the roadmap for an energy efficient, sustainable, and comfortable home through retrofit.
A survey is carried out by a retrofit assessor who examines your existing building fabric, heating systems, and sources of energy.
Your energy demand and CO2 emissions are calculated, and step-by-step solutions, prices, returns and CO2 savings are detailed for each proposed measure.
The sequencing helps homeowners take the right first step when they cannot undergo a full retrofit at once.
Our proposed measures follow the ‘fabric first’ order which is best practice in retrofit, where maintenance works, improving the energy efficiency of your walls, floors, roof, and the air leakiness of your openings take precedence. We then look at sustainable heating systems and finally, renewables.
Once the report is finalised, a follow-up conversation with the Coordinator ensures you understand the report, and you are confident in the next steps towards a more sustainable home.
An analysis of your property and the features that are likely to influence overheating. The report looks at the current picture in the house and also the effect of any future changes in the house.
A survey is carried out by a retrofit assessor who examines your existing building fabric, heating systems, and sources of energy.
Your energy demand and CO2 emissions are calculated, and step-by-step solutions, prices, returns and CO2 savings are detailed for each proposed measure.
The sequencing helps homeowners take the right first step when they cannot undergo a full retrofit at once.
Our proposed measures follow the ‘fabric first’ order which is best practice in retrofit, where maintenance works, improving the energy efficiency of your walls, floors, roof, and the air leakiness of your openings take precedence. We then look at sustainable heating systems and finally, renewables.
Once the report is finalised, a follow-up conversation with the Coordinator ensures you understand the report, and you are confident in the next steps towards a more sustainable home.
- Sign-up & request a call back
- Details are checked during the scoping call and the provisional appointment is booked
- The assessor confirms and attends the assessment
- Have a discussion with your assessor about the report.
- A full analysis of your property using the Good Homes Alliance overheating tool and methodology. The report will help you identify causes for overheating in your home and a plan to make it cooler.