Thank you John. Simple techniques based on common sense that have been used for centuries in warm countries. It’s very interesting that many just don’t get it and open the windows and patio doors when the outside temperature is 30degrees
John first of all what a beautiful house and garden you have. I follow the same principles here with our 1920s built semi. It works well, however the bricks on the south facing side retain a lot of heat energy which radiates into the interior as the day goes on resulting in the temperature peaking late evening circa 8-9pm. Wish there was a way of storing such energy for the winter.
@@johntisbury funnily enough I was going to say that in my comment. I've been doing this for a few years now. This year though, my neighbours are following suit. Hug a brick 😃
It's a great idea. I looked at automating our blinds, but you have to buy another module to do that. As we are home 99% of the time I'm happy to press the button on the remote! LOL
Hi John, I may have missed you saying what it is, but at 2m44s you are showing a set of readings (Temp, Humidity,Co2,Chemicals, PM2.5). What device is providing you with that please? Never can have too much monitoring (my opinion).
Funnily enough I've just done this prior to seeing the video, only problem we have is if I left the doors open we'd have the neighbors cats in the house. I've also placed a fan at the top of the stairs to try and move some air as there's not much breeze this morning.
What shutters do you have? And what are you using to measure internal and external temps? I found using roller blinds on the inside doesn't reduce the amount of radiated heat that much and I've not found a good material to reduce the heat transfer. As our rear is south facing I'm probably going to go for external roller blinds. Another thing I've been looking at doing is a DIY whole house fan, mounting 1500cfm worth of fans in my loft hatch just to shift the cooler air faster in the mornings and evenings. Given the high nighttime temps we had at the peak, I think other methods might need to be looked at, homemade evaporative cooling is on the list.
The shutters were installed in 2017 by The Blinds Company in London. Temps are measured using the Awair device in the office. Outside temps are from a weather station 300 yards away run by a local enthusiast. Agree about the roller blinds, although it does depend on the material. Ours does not really block the heat like the ones on the Velux windows do. The Velux are external, but also specially designed to reduce the heat. The internal roller blinds are not heat dissipating material. Lots of people are looking at cooling options now here in the UK as our climate does appear to be getting more and more Mediterranean.
@@johntisbury Thanks, what are the shutters made of, are they wood? With roller blinds being on the inside you also get the layer of air between the blind and window being heated. There surely will be more products available with increased demand and we'll be getting more thermal specs as a deciding factor -- until then have a look at the builditsolar website as it has some interesting (US) ideas.
Yes shutters are made from Tulip wood and painted. Not cheap, but then quality never is. They were installed in 2017 and still look like new. Thanks, will have a look at that website.
Thanks John, good way to deal with the heat. Do you like the airthing monitor? I looked before but it was fairly new then so reviews were thin on the ground.
@@johntisbury This is fair. My own plan of action is this : Get 8 solar panels generating around 2000KwH for the year Reinforce my flat roof (attic) Get another 8 solar panels generating around 2700KwH for the year, given on the attic they can force them to face south My average usage through the year is maybe 3500KwH a year, for electricity giving me 1000KwH or so to spare. My gas usage is less than 10,000KwH a year. These are both figures I believe to be true given I only bought the house in July So assuming all that's true, then I'd want to get An MVHR system which could theoretically allow me to cut my gas usage down between two and four times. I theoretically would need a maximum of 5000 KWh of gas for the year Then, on top of that, I'd want triple glazing windows Then upsize and replace my radiators. They're not necessary per se but they definitely need power flushing and they're oxidising so I may as well. Then, get a heat pump. Assuming that all the above is correct and assuming an average COP of 2.8, I'd basically have 2800KwH of electricity to spare (ie: the 1000KwH left over from unused energy) Then assuming that I only need 5000KwH of energy for heating, then I'd need just a further 2200KwH of energy (or 725KwH from a heat pump) That would theoretically make my energy consumption costs just over £250/year. It could cost just £72.50 a year if I have a night time tariffqq Things would get skewed if I get an electric car, however there are great advances being made in hybrid electric cars (ie: solar panels on top providing at least 70 miles of range) I don't need to drive that often, so that'd be absolutely perfect for me
Same here. Solar and batteries, whole house at 24C. Currently using about 4kWh a day and that should go once the next 6.3 kWh of batteries arrives. I still open windows and ramp the ventilation up if it's cool outside early in the morning.
It's recently been hot here in the UK, how have you copped with the heat at home?
Thank you John. Simple techniques based on common sense that have been used for centuries in warm countries.
It’s very interesting that many just don’t get it and open the windows and patio doors when the outside temperature is 30degrees
Exactly this, it’s the reason I made this video.
John first of all what a beautiful house and garden you have.
I follow the same principles here with our 1920s built semi. It works well, however the bricks on the south facing side retain a lot of heat energy which radiates into the interior as the day goes on resulting in the temperature peaking late evening circa 8-9pm. Wish there was a way of storing such energy for the winter.
Hug a brick comes to mind. Thanks for watching Chris, glad to hear others have the same approach. I’m the only one who does in our street.
@@johntisbury funnily enough I was going to say that in my comment. I've been doing this for a few years now. This year though, my neighbours are following suit. Hug a brick 😃
I do exactly the same as you John, as an illustration when recently the temperature was 40C I was able to keep the temperature downstairs to 25C.
That’s good to hear Peter, impressive outcome.
John, a full time job opening and closing doors, windows and blinds! (Yes, I am now able to leave comments on UA-cam!)
Hi Barry, welcome to commenting on UA-cam! LOL
It's a twice a day task, but worth the effort when it's hot.
I've considered getting automatic blinds, where they work with sunrise and sunset times (ie: essentially smart blinds)
It's a great idea. I looked at automating our blinds, but you have to buy another module to do that. As we are home 99% of the time I'm happy to press the button on the remote! LOL
Hi John, I may have missed you saying what it is, but at 2m44s you are showing a set of readings (Temp, Humidity,Co2,Chemicals, PM2.5). What device is providing you with that please? Never can have too much monitoring (my opinion).
Its the Awair Elememt. ukstore.getawair.com/products/awair-element
Funnily enough I've just done this prior to seeing the video, only problem we have is if I left the doors open we'd have the neighbors cats in the house. I've also placed a fan at the top of the stairs to try and move some air as there's not much breeze this morning.
We have neighbourhood cat patrol requirements too, I keep my eyes open. Fan at the top of the stairs is a good idea.
What shutters do you have? And what are you using to measure internal and external temps?
I found using roller blinds on the inside doesn't reduce the amount of radiated heat that much and I've not found a good material to reduce the heat transfer. As our rear is south facing I'm probably going to go for external roller blinds. Another thing I've been looking at doing is a DIY whole house fan, mounting 1500cfm worth of fans in my loft hatch just to shift the cooler air faster in the mornings and evenings. Given the high nighttime temps we had at the peak, I think other methods might need to be looked at, homemade evaporative cooling is on the list.
The shutters were installed in 2017 by The Blinds Company in London. Temps are measured using the Awair device in the office. Outside temps are from a weather station 300 yards away run by a local enthusiast.
Agree about the roller blinds, although it does depend on the material. Ours does not really block the heat like the ones on the Velux windows do. The Velux are external, but also specially designed to reduce the heat. The internal roller blinds are not heat dissipating material.
Lots of people are looking at cooling options now here in the UK as our climate does appear to be getting more and more Mediterranean.
@@johntisbury Thanks, what are the shutters made of, are they wood? With roller blinds being on the inside you also get the layer of air between the blind and window being heated. There surely will be more products available with increased demand and we'll be getting more thermal specs as a deciding factor -- until then have a look at the builditsolar website as it has some interesting (US) ideas.
Yes shutters are made from Tulip wood and painted. Not cheap, but then quality never is. They were installed in 2017 and still look like new.
Thanks, will have a look at that website.
@@johntisbury An interesting YT vid to watch is "Life before air conditioning" (FloridaPSC1) esp how architecture was built to cope with the heat.
Thanks will check it out.
Thanks John, good way to deal with the heat. Do you like the airthing monitor? I looked before but it was fairly new then so reviews were thin on the ground.
Thanks for watching. The Awair is expensive but very good. It's gives great information and can be integrated into Home Assistant.
I'm getting fly screens for front and back doors to deter unwanted feline callers.
Mechanical ventilation can do it automatically.
Absolutely, however I don't have mechanical ventilation. I wanted to show what you can do without any A/C, fans etc.
@@johntisbury understood. If you build a new house ten you must calculate how much direct sun heat you want during winter and summer.
Totally, a underlying principle of a Passive house.
@@johntisbury This is fair. My own plan of action is this :
Get 8 solar panels generating around 2000KwH for the year
Reinforce my flat roof (attic)
Get another 8 solar panels generating around 2700KwH for the year, given on the attic they can force them to face south
My average usage through the year is maybe 3500KwH a year, for electricity giving me 1000KwH or so to spare.
My gas usage is less than 10,000KwH a year. These are both figures I believe to be true given I only bought the house in July
So assuming all that's true, then I'd want to get
An MVHR system which could theoretically allow me to cut my gas usage down between two and four times. I theoretically would need a maximum of 5000 KWh of gas for the year
Then, on top of that, I'd want triple glazing windows
Then upsize and replace my radiators. They're not necessary per se but they definitely need power flushing and they're oxidising so I may as well.
Then, get a heat pump. Assuming that all the above is correct and assuming an average COP of 2.8, I'd basically have 2800KwH of electricity to spare (ie: the 1000KwH left over from unused energy)
Then assuming that I only need 5000KwH of energy for heating, then I'd need just a further 2200KwH of energy (or 725KwH from a heat pump)
That would theoretically make my energy consumption costs just over £250/year. It could cost just £72.50 a year if I have a night time tariffqq
Things would get skewed if I get an electric car, however there are great advances being made in hybrid electric cars (ie: solar panels on top providing at least 70 miles of range)
I don't need to drive that often, so that'd be absolutely perfect for me
@@johntisbury Yup. I want to get as close as possible. Triple glazed windows and passivhaus certified doors are something too for air quality
I run the AC unit downstairs 24/7 off solar and batteries 😁 Nice constant 21 degrees.
Or is this cheating?
If it works it works. 😂
Same here. Solar and batteries, whole house at 24C. Currently using about 4kWh a day and that should go once the next 6.3 kWh of batteries arrives. I still open windows and ramp the ventilation up if it's cool outside early in the morning.
@@christianjackson9534 best of both worlds there Christian. Good news on the additional battery capacity to reduce grid usage.
Meow 👍👍👍
Thanks Glyn 😀
Does your cat deal,with the spiders? 🫣
Nope, not interested in them.