A TikTok user has shared a simple yet effective European method to keep homes cool during the ongoing heatwave, which is expected to bring temperatures of up to 36 degrees Celsius in parts of the UK.
The Method: Purge and Insulate
In a video posted by BAM_Renovate, the man explains: 'As early as possible in the morning, open up all your windows and doors in your home. It will be cooler outside, so you're purging all the hot, stale air from inside your home and inviting the cool, fresh air in.'
'Then you want to lock that air in your home. Shut all your windows and doors. Seems counterintuitive, but when you shut all your windows and doors, you insulate and stop that cool air escaping.'
He added that when the outside temperature becomes hotter than the inside, heat will transfer in or cool air will flush out. 'You want to keep that cool air in. Shut all your curtains and blinds if you can, especially if your windows get sunlight, because you're going to try and stop that heat transferring through the window.'
External Shading: A European Practice
The TikToker highlighted a common practice in many parts of Europe, where homes have external shutters. 'If you've got curtains on the inside, the Sun's radiation is going to transfer through the glass into your curtain,' he said. 'That's essentially going to heat the curtain up and create a kind of radiator in your home. But if you can put it on the outside of your house, that heat doesn't get through the glazing, keeping the heat outside.'
He suggested using a light-coloured bed sheet or towel hung on the outside of the window, spaced off the glass. 'Top tip for this one, if you can get a light-coloured bed sheet or towel and hang it on the outside of your window – or an England flag, because of the World Cup – on the outside of your window, spaced off the glass, so it's not touching the glass, that's a gold standard.'
He also mentioned using tin foil as 'a good option' because 'it's gonna radiate and reflect that heat away from your window and not let it in your home.'
Heatwave Forecast
According to the Met Office, Thursday and Friday are expected to be the hottest days, with highs of 35 to 36 degrees Celsius. Saturday could see 34 degrees in south west England and 33 degrees on Sunday, before a gradual trend down.
Deputy Chief Forecaster Tom Crabtree said: 'It won't be a straightforward end to the warm weather. High pressure is expected to remain in charge through much of next week, but it will gradually migrate northwards. This means that an easterly wind will become established in the south, and the focus for the hottest conditions will migrate towards the south west.'
'As a result, some places that have seen the highest temperatures during recent weeks will begin to cool. It will, however, remain very warm – especially in the south west – and heatwave thresholds may continue to be met in places. The overall signal is for continued fine, dry, and very warm weather at times for many parts of the UK into next week. There is, however, a chance of thunderstorms spreading into parts of the south and south west.'
