Summertime brings longer days and shorter nights, sunshine, and the occasional heatwave.
While soaking up some summer rays can feel good for the soul, keeping your park home cool during sweltering days is crucial for your comfort and well-being. Like traditional bricks and mortar homes, park homes can become hot and stuffy, especially if they lack proper insulation, ventilation, or cooling systems.
Factors such as sunlight exposure, poor airflow, and high external temperatures can contribute to the interior of a park home becoming an uncomfortable environment to inhabit. However, with the right approach and adjustments, it's possible to mitigate heat buildup and create a cooler and more bearable living condition- inside your park home during the summer.
In this article, we'll explore a range of tips, hacks, and appliances to help you stay cool and safe during a heatwave.
Tips for keeping your park home cool
Proper ventilation
One of the most simple and effective ways to keep your park home cool is through proper ventilation. Take advantage of cool morning and evening breezes by strategically opening windows to create cross-ventilation.
Shading and insulation
Believe it or not, proper insulation not only helps to keep your park home warm in winter, but can contribute to cooler indoor temperatures during summer, too!
Keeping your curtains or blinds shut can help to block out harsh sunlight during the hottest parts of the day, while the use of reflective window films can significantly reduce heat gain by reflecting sunlight away from your windows.
Use cooling devices and appliances
When natural ventilation and shading simply isn't enough, cooling devices and appliances can come to the rescue.
Consider installing an air conditioning unit for comfort, especially during heatwaves. Air con, as it is often referred to, works by removing heat from the air inside your home and channelling it outside. Air con units use a refrigerant, a special fluid that circulates through coils inside the unit. When the refrigerant absorbs the heat from indoor air, it evaporates into a gas. The unit then compresses the gas and moves it to outdoor coils, where the heat is released outside. The refrigerant cools down and turns back into a liquid, repeating the cycle. Fans help to circulate the cool air inside, to create a comfortable indoor temperature.
Don’t have the budget for air con? Evaporative coolers are an energy-efficient alternative to traditional air conditioners, utilising water evaporation to cool the air. Portable fans and air circulators are also versatile options for targeted cooling in specific areas of your park home.
Lifestyle adjustments
In addition to some home modifications, simple lifestyle adjustments can also make a huge difference on hot days.
While it may not seem like an obvious solution, minimising the use of heat-generating appliances during the hottest parts of the day can really help. These include, but are not limited to:
Oven: Depending on the cooking method and temperature setting, ovens can generate significant heat, ranging from a few hundred to over 1000 watts during operation.
Stove: Gas stoves typically emit more heat than electric stoves, with burners capable of generating several thousand watts of heat when set to high temperatures.
Dryer: Clothes dryers can produce heat output ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 watts, depending on the model, capacity, and drying cycle selected.
Dishwasher: While dishwashers primarily use hot water for cleaning, they may emit some heat during the drying cycle, typically in the range of a few hundred watts.
Refrigerator: Refrigerators generally produce minimal heat compared to other appliances, typically in the range of 100 to 400 watts, mainly from the compressor motor and condenser coils.
Microwave: Microwave ovens can generate heat output ranging from 600 to 1,200 watts during cooking or reheating cycles.
Television: The heat output from televisions varies depending on the type and size of the TV, with older CRT (cathode ray tube) TVs producing more heat than modern LCD or LED models.
Computer: Desktop computers and laptops can generate heat output ranging from a few dozen to several hundred watts, depending on the hardware specifications and workload.
Light Bulbs: Incandescent and halogen light bulbs emit more heat than LED bulbs, with wattages ranging from 25 to 150 watts or higher, depending on the bulb type and brightness.
Chargers: Chargers for electronic devices typically produce minimal heat, usually less than 50 watts, depending on the device's power requirements and charging speed.
Water heater: Water heaters can generate heat output ranging from a few thousand to over ten thousand watts, depending on the type (electric, gas, or tankless) and capacity of the heater.
Individually, the amount of heat generated by the appliances listed may not seem like a big deal, but running several of these appliances at once may make your park home much feel much hotter than it could be.
Keeping yourself cool
The heat can have a serious effect on your physical health, especially during a heatwave, so it's important to look out for signs of heatstroke and heat exhaustion. Many people believe that heat exhaustion and heatstroke are the same things, but heatstroke is potentially far more serious.
Dress for the heat
Choose lightweight, breathable fabrics for bedding and clothing to help regulate body temperature.
Wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing made from breathable fabrics to help your body stay cool. Natural fibres such as cotton, linen and silk are unparalleled in hot weather due to their exceptional breathability. These eco-friendly fibres allow air to circulate freely, aiding in the release of trapped heat. Avoid wearing dark clothes which absorb sunlight making you feel hotter than if you wear white or lighter coloured clothes. Abandon socks and shoes during periods of intense heat and opt for sandals or bare feet around the home.
Cooling products and accessories
Explore cooling products such as cooling towels, gel ice packs, and handheld fans to beat the heat, wherever you go. There are also cooling sprays on the market that can deliver an instant burst of cooling refreshment when the heat becomes a bit too much. Similarly, you can also use a water misting fan. These handy portable devices are battery-operated so you can take them with you wherever you go.
You can quickly cool yourself down by putting your hands and feet in cold water. Wrists and ankles have lots of pulse points where blood vessels are close to the skin, so you will cool down more quickly. Additionally, immerse clean face cloths in cold water, then lay them on your face, arms, and the back of your neck for an instant cool down.
Safety measures for hot weather
The importance of staying hydrated
When it's hot out, your body works extra hard to cool you down by sweating. The more you sweat, the more water you lose form the body and therefore the more fluids you need to replace. Water in the body is essential for many bodily functions and dehydration occurs when water lost is not replaced.
It is important to maintain proper hydration levels by drinking water regularly and avoiding excessive alcohol and caffeine consumption. As refreshing as a cold, fruity cocktail might sound, it can also cause loss of fluids. Keep water handy to throughout the day, not just when you feel thirsty, to replace lost fluids and prevent dehydration. This article from the Association of UK dieticians shares some useful information on how to tell if you are drinking enough and what drinks, other than water, can help you to stay hydrated.
While enjoying outdoor activities such as walking, cycling, bowls or simply relaxing in the garden, it's crucial to prioritise your safety by recognising signs of heat-related illnesses.
Be aware of symptoms of heat exhaustion and heatstroke, such as:
- Tiredness
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Feeling sick or being sick
- Excessive sweating, with pale and clammy skin
- A heat rash
- Cramps in the arms, legs and stomach
- Fast breathing or heartbeat
- A high temperature
- Unquenchable thirst
- Weakness
If you or someone at home exhibits these symptoms, then take immediate action to cool them down. Advice on what to do can be found here.
Looking out for others
Keeping an eye on vulnerable individuals is a good idea during extreme heat. Check on elderly neighbours and pets regularly during hot weather to ensure they're staying cool and hydrated.
Disclaimer: The sole purpose of this article is to provide guidance on the issues covered. This article is not intended to give legal advice, and, accordingly, it should not be relied upon. It should not be regarded as a comprehensive statement of the law and/or market practice in this area. We make no claims as to the completeness or accuracy of the information contained herein or in the links which were live at the date of publication. You should not act upon (or should refrain from acting upon) information in this publication without first seeking specific legal and/or specialist advice. Lifesure Group Limited trading as Lifesure and Lifesure Insurance Broker accepts no liability for any inaccuracy accepts no liability for any inaccuracy, omission or mistake in this publication, nor will we be responsible for any loss which may be suffered as a result of any person relying on the information contained herein.
