Concrete houses often get cold due to the lack of insulation provided by concrete walls and floors. To combat this, professionals typically use the solar reflectance index (SRI) system to determine the reflectiveness of concrete’s surface. Small concrete patio ideas can create a warm and welcoming space, while using warm-toned wood and finishes can add natural beauty and character.
Contemporary concrete, made from post-consumer or post-industrial waste, can be used to warm up contemporary shapes like waterfall countertops, slab cabinetry, and neutral color schemes. Concrete can also be used in kitchen countertops, powder room sinks, bedroom walls, and tiled floors, imparting an unexpected sense of utilitarian chic and streamlined modernism.
Concrete walls look stunning on bright hallways, with decorative white siding on the top and bottom of the wall. Painting the concrete around the living room can add warmth. Keeping concrete clean and sealed helps achieve peak reflectivity, making the surface cooler. Lighting is another way to add warmth, with vintage LED bulbs being a popular choice.
To increase energy efficiency in your conservatory or orangery, consider adding pieces that make you feel cozy and like a place you want to spend time in. White shingles or roofing sheets absorb less heat than darker colors, and trade all incandescent bulbs for LED (or CFL if LED is too expensive).
In addition to insulation, consider installing a toe-kick heater in bathrooms or kitchens to create a comfortable space for colder months. By following these tips, you can create a perfect outdoor living space year-round.
📹 The Truth about insulation in a hot climate
When you are cold you put a sweater on. This keeps heat in. If really cold out a jacket over the sweater. Thicker is better and …
How do you make a concrete room cozy?
To create a stylized and inviting space, consider adding various textures such as area rugs, plants, throw pillows, natural textiles, and furniture. Choosing a variety of textures can make the space feel livable, even with minimal design and monochromatic colors. Dynasty Epoxy, a concrete flooring expert, can seal concrete, add epoxy floor paint, or repair and reapply new concrete or epoxy. Contact them for more information and support.
How to stop cold from concrete floor?
Two principal techniques for insulating concrete are the utilisation of rigid foam insulation, plywood layers, and finish flooring, or the attachment of wood sleepers, the filling of gaps with foam insulation, the application of a subfloor, and the finishing of flooring.
What can I put on a concrete floor to keep warm?
Concrete floors frequently employ radiant foam insulation beneath concrete decks and rigid foam boards as insulation alternatives.
How to insulate a concrete room?
The insulation of concrete block walls can be achieved through the use of spray or injection foam, which creates an air seal and thereby enhances the comfort and energy efficiency of the enclosed space. The two methods of installation differ in their respective approaches. The initial method entails the injection of insulation foam into the cores of concrete blocks, representing the most efficacious approach to insulation.
How do you make concrete less hot?
To maintain a cooler patio, consider using cool-touch materials and finishes. Reflective coatings reflect more sunlight and absorb less heat, making the surface cooler. Light-colored finishes reflect more sunlight and absorb less heat, ensuring a cooler surface temperature. Additionally, consider using water features like misting systems to create a refreshing environment by cooling the air. Misters release a fine mist of water that evaporates quickly, lowering the surrounding temperature. These systems can be installed along the edges of pergolas, umbrellas, or fences for optimal coverage.
How to insulate against a concrete wall?
Insulating concrete block walls can be done using various materials such as spray foam insulation, injection foam insulation, polystyrene beads, foam boards, and loose-fill masonry insulation. The choice depends on whether the walls will be covered or exposed, such as in a remodel or new build. Spray foam insulation is recommended before drywall is installed and studs are furred out, allowing the foam insulation to get behind the studs to prevent thermal bridging.
What can you put on concrete to keep it from getting hot?
Regularly reapplying a new coat of sealant to concrete is crucial to protect it from harsh weather conditions, such as extreme heat and direct sunlight. The amount and frequency of sealing depend on the area’s traffic, exposure to sunlight, and the type of concrete. Driveways and sidewalks are particularly susceptible to concrete stains, including oil, grease, and chemicals from vehicles or lawn equipment. To prevent stains from being absorbed, remove them as soon as possible.
Sun-baked areas are the quickest to get stained, as heat bakes in the stain. Stain-removing products specifically designed for concrete can help remove issues if used soon enough. Start cleaning immediately if you notice stains, and if not immediately, use the stain remover to reduce discoloration.
In summary, regular sealant application is essential for maintaining the durability and longevity of concrete. Regular reapplying of sealant and using stain-removing products can help prevent stains from absorbing into the concrete and preventing further damage.
How to reduce heat from a concrete wall?
Heat proofing paint is a chemical solution that can be applied to concrete walls to reduce heat. It is easy to apply and comes in various forms, such as aluminum foil, PU foam spray insulation, water sprinklers, mineral rocks, metal shade, clean roof, and applying primer. In Pakistan, around 99 homes are made of concrete due to cheaper cement and concrete raw materials and expensive wood. However, concrete buildings can have defects, especially during heat waves.
Advances in science and technology have made it possible to find solutions to reduce heat from concrete over walls. One such solution is heat proofing paint, which is the easiest to apply and comes in a chemical form.
How is concrete warmed?
Concrete’s heat of hydration is an exothermic reaction that occurs when water and cement react, largely influenced by the composition and fineness of the cement. This process is complex and extensively researched, and can be divided into five distinct phases over time. The heat profile can change depending on the type of cement used. Type I cement typically has a heat profile of about 10%, while the other four phases represent the principal compounds of Portland cement, with their individual mass fractions changing based on the type of cement. The heat evolution in concrete is a complex and extensively researched topic.
Does painting concrete reduce heat?
Non-slip paints are available for concrete pool decks, ensuring a slip-resistant texture without being too rough on bare feet. ADA compliant non-slip concrete paint is ideal for neighborhood or commercial pools, while non-slip cool concrete pool deck paint can reduce heat buildup on the concrete. COOL! is a non-slip coating that can reduce temperatures by up to 38 degrees and can be used both outdoors and indoors. Non-slip paint can also be added to other concrete floors in homes or businesses to add traction and reduce safety hazards.
Indoor pools and aquatic centers can benefit from textured non-slip paint, making them safer. ADA compliant non-slip concrete paints, like COOL!, are ideal for pools used for swim meets, athletic training, and recreational use. Depending on the size of your pool or aquatic center, hiring someone to paint the concrete non-slip around it may be necessary.
How to make a concrete room warmer?
Spray foam insulation is a liquid applied to concrete walls to create an airtight atmosphere, blocking out heat loss. It is suitable for existing, basement, and unfinished walls, offering a high R-value range of R2. 2-7. However, it is expensive.
Rigid foam insulation is a solid foam board applied to existing walls, offering various thicknesses, reduced heat-transferred insulation, good moisture resistance, and easy installation. It comes in various thicknesses and is available in various types. Both methods are effective in reducing heat transfer and preventing heat loss in concrete walls.
📹 How to keep your house cool in the summer without AC
Beat the heat with tips on how to keep your house cool without air conditioning. To read more: http://cbc.ca/1.4778478 …
This definitely works, I’ve been doing this for a few years and haven’t used my AC in 3 years. I live in a 2 story house, so my fan points outside from an upstairs window, and the other window is open downstairs. Since warm air naturally rises, I don’t bother with a downstairs fan pointing upstairs, and my house in the morning can be pretty chilly. People look at me strangely when I try to explain this technique, so I will definitely be sharing this article.
This is great advice for people who live in areas that actually get cool at night. I really wish I could just keep out the heat during the day and then air out the house at night and skip the AC altogether most days. No such luck in the southern US where our summer “lows” are 75F with near 100% humidity. Works great for about one week in April and another week in October, though!
Now I just remembered what I did once as a University student, during the hottest summer I can think of: I put my pajama in a freezer for 45min. and then I put it on! lol BTW: This fan-technique works 100%. After the sunset, you must place it approx. 1.4m from the window and direct it to the bottom of your window (in any room facing south at the top floor), since the hot air goes up. Open your windows facing north at all floors. Get roller mosquito nets for your windows! Done.
One note: If you are at home during the hot day, bear in mind, that every piece of electronics you use, creates additional heat, that will accumulate in your house over time. Using electronics, that has high temperatures in load (like a PC/laptop/console during gaming sessions, owen, kettle, etc.), will eventually build up the heat inside – as there is hotter outside, the heat will just keep accumulating – you might end up in an enviroment with much higher temperature, than outside temperature. Also, sometimes it´s actually better to leave your windows open during the day, even tho the temperature outside is much higher. The difference between outer and inner pressure will make the air move, making the high temperatures more bearable.
2 very important tips when using an airco! NEVER! direct the cold air flow at yourself! This can lead to stiff muscles and bones, muscle pain, and even very painful mucous membrane inflammation! 2: ALWAYS make sure that the humidity is always between 30% -50% in the room! Too low humidity because of the dry air of the airco can cause dry skin, an irritated dry throat that makes you susceptible to viruses, and you can end up with a serious bad cold!
0:30 pick room to cool, open window to let cool air in. 0:42 across the house open window and point a fan outward to blow warm air out and create a low pressure system in house sucking cool air in through the first open window. obviously you need window screens and obviously the outside air must be cooler than the inside air by 5F+ to feel any benefit.
From a lifetime of experiencing Australian heatwaves, a hot land. Proper insulation is something often overlooked and it really does a big job (without extra cost when you have it in place.) And especially when AC is an issue either the cost or not having any. Insulation will lessen costs of heating in winter too. With climate crisis now, insulating properly is now more important. It will get worse, so put work into insulating your living space properly – it is your refuge. Temperature transfer is most between roof and windows. Roof insulation is first priority. A heat removing fan can also help in roof space. Keep sun off windows BEFORE IT ENTERS, with external blinds (cheapest are bamboo ones). Using light internal blinds does not help as much because the “glasshouse effect” has already happened, heating the air in the home as sunlight enters through glass. But if can’t have external blinds, you can make the internal blinds more insulating first by having a pull down blind that close fits the window space. We also have heavy (reflecting backed) drapes that can close the windows off more. Less mobile air in trapped window space acts like an insulator. The major insulating measures of roof and windows really do slow the house gaining heat in summer and loosing heat in winter. The more you insulate the more effective are things like fans, and the cheaper it all is. Once you have good insulation going it is forever. No more costs for it once it is in and paying you well back. Get things closed up early in the morning on heatwave days.
I turn my heat off when I go to bed in the winter… Just to avoid dry air. I use a humidifier and extra blankets. I sleep best at 60 d f. Mind you I don’t wear shorts and sandles in January like some! I do only wear dry fit clothing in summer because cotton is to hot. I will try this recommendation only because it’s the heat has dropped.
Electric fans don’t move a lot of air, even swinging a door back and forth moves more air than a table fan or even a standing fan. Open windows on walls that are at right angles to each other, this means that at whatever direction the wind is blowing, the pressure at one window will be greater than the other and air will flow through the house. This is actually how planes measure their airspeed by having openings at right angles to each other and measuring the pressure difference. If you have multiple floors, use the stack effect and open both upper and lower floor windows letting heat move the air for you. Ultimately, evaporation is the way to remove heat. Watering your lawn can lower the temperature a lot, watering your roof could reduce the heat in your home quickly but could also cause a lot of damage due to calcification, an anti-sediment filter could help prevent damage. Wearing an evaporative vest or just wrapping a slightly damp towel around yourself can help you tolerate the worst heat.
Moving up to Washington, from California, I was really alarmed that homes don’t have A/C up here. “Oh it doesn’t get hot in WA, you’ll be fine.” Then it immediately goes up to over 100. It was warmer here than in my hometown. Granted, I’m well aware that’s not normal, but I just have the worst luck in the world. I will be using these tips, to help out in the more mild heat we now have.
I figured this out for myself decades ago in a house that got particularly hot in a hot arid environment. We used swamp coolers so the windows needed to be open for it to work well but for some reason, suction of air out the window didn’t occur. So, I placed a fan blowing out the window of the hottest room and it worked well for us.
Lookup “whole house fan”. They were very common in the days before ubiquitous air conditioning. Also, most two story air conditioned houses are running on a single zone heating/cooling system with the thermostat on the first floor. They are designed to heat, not cool (using the word “designed” generously here). When used to cool the upstairs, a large temperature gradient develops between upstairs and downstairs (where the single thermostat is installed). This happens because most of the air return and supply is happening on first floor and that cool air never rises to the second floor (in the winter heating season the hot air does rise, so it works fine). When cooling, to get 22 C upstairs the thermostat, downstairs, has to be set to a lower temperature – possibly much lower depending on the layout of the house and the size of air vents. Resolve that by restricting the lower floor return vents (assuming you upstairs return vents) and first floor supply vents. That will pull more stale hot air from the second floor and push more cool air directly upstairs. That upstairs cool air will naturally sink to the first floor and the end result will be uniform temperature. It’s a hack, but it’s easy and works really well. I do this to my house at the beginning of every cooling season. Don’t heat the house when configured like this, in fact, shut off the gas while configured like this to ensure you don’t accidentally heat. p.s. Houses should be designed with two zone heating/cooling systems to begin with.
I’ve been doing this for years and I’m a big “fan” of forcing air out of the house, however if you have a basement place the fan in the doorway and suck the air out of the basement. It works best if you can place something around the fan covering the remainder of the doorway. A sheet would do the job.
Pro tip get a white roof instead rather than having a dark coloured roof because the dark coloured roof that is the main reason why your home gets so hot. Keep in mind white reflect sunlight just like how snow reflect sunlight to keeps things colder because of its high albedo of the snow being white meanwhile dark colours on the other hand absorb heat and make things much hotter.
It’s after midnight here and is 80% relative humidity and climbing. If I open the windows it will increase corrosion and feel hotter than it is. If I use the dehumidifier or AC a little, it will feel cooler than the outside air without expending much energy at all. During the day when there’s a breeze and lower humidity I open up. As the humidity increases in the afternoon, I close up again. My power bills are 1/3 of the regional average for a household of the same size. There’s only 5c difference between inside and outside, but it feels cooler inside.
Question. Help. My apartment management doesn’t supply window screens. So I cannot open any windows. This allows bugs and other “critters” ho get inside and my cats could jump out. (I’m upstairs) How can I cool my apartment without using th window film (I don’t know if it will come off easy) and without opening any windows or using th AC? I can’t find any solutions on YouTube. Can you help?
Texas Cool. Open windows at nite close in the morning. Shades/ Curtains closed to keep sunlight out. If you have a basement with widows open them 2 hrs after sun set with a fan blowing in upstairs window open with fan blowing out. Wait til humidity goes down.outside. No sense bringing humid air inside.
Even before perusal this article, I put a cyclone floor fan in my basement and connected it to a smart plug. I programmed it to turn on when the temp rises above 71 and turn off when it falls below. It works perfectly and makes a significant difference. However it eventually gets warm enough that the fan just stays on, so I was curious what other tricks there me be that I’ve never tried. My upstairs is pretty warm. I think I will try the idea of exchanging the air overnight.
Not possible. The temperature of surrounding environment is the most important contributor of the overall temperature of the house. If the temperature outside the house already high, we cannot make the temperature inside the house lower than that by only blowing the air from outside to the house. That’s why we need an AC. With the extra energy used by AC, we can make the temperature of the air cooler because the air is artificially made cooler by the AC. It’s as simple as that.
This is a ranch and it’s a finished basement with carpeting it was 82° down there very well insulated however I need to lower the temperature I’m keeping the humidity between 45 and 50 always this will reduce any chances of mold building. But I need to get the temperature down fast I bought an industrial fan and the attic door has a solid door and screen door option to use what I need to know is how do I get the temperatures down when it’s so hot outside it matches
None of these work lol I work nights so have to sleep during the day when the temperatures are at the highest. I have my windows and curtains shut and 2 fans blazing around and it makes zero difference. My girlfriend always comes in to wake me up and says it’s like a Sauna in the room because of how hot it is. It’s the hottest room in the house and nothing cools it not even putting a fan pointing the window in another room doesn’t help either. I live in the UK and the humidity is always pretty high so maybe that’s why nothing seems to work.
You can also do this if you have central air by using just the circulator. If you open a window in one or two rooms you aren’t using and close those doors while opening the window in the room you want to cool leaving its door open to the rest of the house, the air in those closed rooms will be forced outside and you’ll pull air in through the window that is open to the rest of the house and the circulator system. You might even want to use towels or some other material under the closed door edge to cut down on the leakage under the door.