Beat The Heat In Spain

Beat The Heat In Spain

LAST UPDATED: 13 November, 2014 @ 3:01 pm
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BEAT THE HEAT: How to cool a pasive house in Spain
BEAT THE HEAT: How to cool a pasive house in Spain

BEAT THE HEAT: How to cool a pasive house in Spain
BEAT THE HEAT: How to cool a pasive house in Spain

CHARMING as they may look, the beautiful whitewashed houses in southern Spain have a nasty habit of heating up in summer.

Even if you seal the building properly, insulate it correctly, the minute you start cooking in the kitchen or open the door in rushes the heat of summer.

But luckily, John Wolfendale, of green architecture company Eco Vida has a few top tips on how to keep your house cool in the summer.

DESIGN YOUR BUIILDING FOR A HOT CLIMATE:

  • Shading: this is a vital part of a design in a hot climate. Shade as much as possible of your home to the south, where it will received direct hot sun most of the day, but also to the west, where the sun sets. The westerly sun is harder to keep out due to its angle and it often arrives just as the thermal mass of your structure is more likely to have reached capacity. Shading is vital in the evenings and can include overhangs, blinds, or shutters
  • Special Glazing: Although this is mostly for keeping heat in, you can now get solar-reflecting glass and solar-absorbing glass to keep away the rays. Beware though: You may lessen your views, not to mention cut down on passive heating in winter. Find a careful balance
  • Thermal Mass: this is often the excuse for using vast quantities of concrete and is certainly why traditional stone buildings in Spain have such thick walls and usually remain cool in summer. Essentially, the bulky walls absorb the heat allowing you to stay cool inside. This method is entirely reliant on the bulk cooling down overnight

REDUCE HEAT GAIN BY:

  • Cooking outside – not a bad idea we have a lot of barbecues in Spain. It also helps to use an extractor fan in the kitchen
  • Using energy-efficient lighting and natural light
  • People are a major heat source in passive houses so get rid of them, or at least go outside
  • Look again at your domestic appliances. Are they low in energy consumption and where are they located?

MAKE YOURSELF FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE BY:

  • Moving the air with fans
  • Using evaporation techniques such as fountains and dripping walls which work well in dry climates, but less well in humid climates
  • Using cool colours: apparently psychologists propose this as a way to beat the heat.

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