Should you keep your windows open to stay cool this summer?

Picture this unlikely scene: It’s high summer, and freaky as it sounds here in the UK, the weather outside is absolutely sweltering. The question is, how do you keep the house cool?

Maybe you’re working from home and there’s no way that you can concentrate if you’re melting. Let’s also add that you don’t have air conditioning. So as the day wears on, the hotter and stuffier your rooms become, and you along with them.

Open the windows?

The most natural course of action for many of us is to open all the windows, but is that really the wisest thing to do?

You might argue that opening the windows will let the breeze in, except that if it’s hotter outside, rather than just letting the breeze in, opening the windows will allow the hot air into the house and simply make matters worse.

On the other hand, it can just seem unnatural to have all the windows closed on a beautiful summer day.

As for closing the curtains and drawing the blinds, that would help to prevent the hot sunlight streaming in, but it amounts to shutting yourself in a claustrophobic darkened box. On a lovely sunny day? Forget it!

Let’s just cool down and approach this thing logically.

Begin by deciding whether it’s hotter outside than inside. The general consensus on this subject seems to be that you should open your windows – and maybe even the doors – if it’s cooler outside than it is inside, especially if there’s a pleasant breeze. But if it’s warmer outside than in, keep your windows closed.

As the day goes on and it begins to get hotter outside than inside, you should then close the windows as it reaches the hottest part of the day.

As the sun moves around the outside of your house, it makes sense to avoid direct sunlight getting inside, so close your shades, blinds or curtains where the sun hits that part of your house – even if the windows are open.

What about at night?

At night it’s almost certain to be cooler outside than in the house, so your best plan then is to have your windows open and let in the cool air. By the same token it would help to keep the house cool if you left your windows open first thing in the morning and in the evening.

While the windows are open, it’s a good idea to get the air circulating around the house, if necessary, by using a fan to move the air around while keeping any interior doors open.

A thermometer? What a good idea.

The simplest way to keep track of the temperature is by having a thermometer on both the inside and outside of your house. If the reading is cooler outside than inside, open your windows; if it’s warmer outside than in, keep your windows closed.

Lastly, don’t overlook home security when leaving windows and doors open, and think carefully about whether it’s safe to do so, especially at night.

All Residence Collection windows have been carefully created with you in mind, allowing you to replace your current windows and doors with a more efficient, secure and attractive system.

Start your journey today by downloading one of our brochures or finding your local Residence Collection installer using our handy tool.