Ignoring Expert Advice

[poliphilo]

This is the third in a sequence of very hot days- and forecasters are expecting it to turn into the hottest ever recorded in the UK. As someone who- as a kid- was fascinated by The Guinness Book of Records* I find this kinda groovy.

There was a doctor on TV yesterday evening saying that we should deal with these very high temperatures by doing as they do in Mediterranean countries- and pull down all the shutters. This goes clean against my instinct- which is to open everything that can be opened- windows, doors, the lot. I'm sure he's right and I'm wrong but I have a bit of a fixation on fresh air and mean to persist in my folly.

*I was surprised to find it's still in print. My granddaughter has an up to date copy. She loves it.

Comments

[cmcmck]

But they pull down the shutters (which most of us don't have- although we DO have interior plantation blinds) only for the midday siesta.

Said medic doesn't have the first clue!

[poliphilo]

And why would we (Have shutters I mean) when we only get these temperatures once or twice a year?

[cmcmck]

Aircon isn't considered green enough by the loudshouters but that will be the real answer if this becomes usual.

This is a North African airflow off the Sahara, hence the accompanying warm wind.

It happens from time to time!

[poliphilo]

I reckon we can cope with it for three days.

I understand the wind direction is about to change- and the temperature with it.

[hunningham]

I always thought was open all the windows and pull down the blinds / close the shutters, so you get shade AND ventilation. I remember my aunt doing this in Barcelona, and the shutters in her flat had these flaps you adjusted with a handle so they could be open for maximum air flow or shuttered tight.

Doesn't work quite so well in the UK where lots of us have heavy lined curtains specifically to exclude all draughts.

(Wandered by via network.)

[poliphilo]

Shade AND ventilation: that sounds about right.


Wooden shutters are great but not really right for our climate- unless of course our climate is hotting up- which it seems to be....

[oakmouse]

Having grown up in a climate with very hot summers, in the days before home air conditioning was a thing in the US, I was raised to:

- Close up the windows, blinds/curtains, etc, starting as soon as the temperature outside gets warm enough that the air coming in the windows is the same temperature as, or warmer than (but hopefully not by more than a degree or two), the air inside the house

- As soon as the temp outside drops to or below the temp inside, begin opening windows on the side away from the sun; open as many as possible at the top, not the bottom, to flush the hot air out of the house.

- As soon as the sun goes down, open everything wide and let the air flow as freely as possible until the temp rises next morning to match the temp inside the house.

- On cloudy days, modify this as needed but only if the temp outside is not more than a degree or two hotter than inside the house because hot humid air is worse than hot dry air.

- Cool breezes don't help if the standing air is hot, unless the breezes blow without interruption.

I still do that today --- in fact we're doing it right now; it's about 7 PM and we've opened the windows on the shady side but are still getting direct sun on the other side --- and it's saved us a lot of discomfort.