Picture this: it’s a scorching hot day outside. You grab an ice-cold drink and head up to your favorite spot in the house — the loft! You find yourself perspiring. Agitated, you wonder how you could make it cooler. Still wondering? If you’re reading this article, you’re probably trying to get to the bottom of this and rid the heat from your loft. The reason why it is hot is that the heat generated from activity in your house would rise — and since the loft is in the upper section of your home, it most likely would contain a lot of the accumulated heat. You might notice on sunny days out, opening up the windows might seem to make it worse. But before you change your favourite spot in your house to somewhere cooler, here are some tips that will help cool your loft down.
There are ways to keep heat from building up in your loft. You can consider air-conditioning options for a start. But if you already have that, you can also consider other ventilation options, putting up walls, different types of window treatments and even when to open your windows. Let’s dive in!
1. Where Is The AC Unit In Your House?
If you find yourself waiting forever for the cool air to fill up your loft even after switching on the air conditioning, there might be a chance you’ve just placed your unit in a part of your home that does not circulate well to your loft. First things first: where exactly is your air-conditioning unit placed in your home? If your air-conditioning unit is below your loft, it’s probably the reason why the cold air can’t circulate up to it. Unlike hot air, cold air sinks, hence it’s best to have a unit installed near the ceiling to allow better cool air circulation in your loft. Take note that it should face furniture that you would use often, such as the sofa, your bed, your work desk, your dining area, and so on. This would ensure a balanced flow of air throughout the spaces you frequent.
Although it is a great option for immediate heat relief, it is not something you would want to rely on every time. Keeping your air-conditioning switched on for extended periods of time would consume a lot of energy and would eventually rack up a hefty electricity bill. Thankfully, this is not the only way to improve ventilation in your loft. If being eco-conscious and saving up on energy consumption is your goal, we can explore other ventilation options to keep your loft cool.
2. Electric Fans Are Your New Best Friends
If you’re looking for great ventilation options that won’t break the bank, getting electric fans are just the prop for you. These are great because you can place it anywhere in your house as long as there is an electrical socket nearby. If you’re cooking in the kitchen or reading a book in your loft, you can bring the fan along with you. Like an AC unit, placement is essential. A quick life-hack is that you can tilt your electric fans towards ceilings or walls to create an upward airflow. If your bedroom is in the loft, a good tip for a cooling night is to place a fan at an open window to “pull” the cool air into your room.
The great thing about electric fans is that there are many types you can get for your home. If you prefer fans over air-conditioning, installing ceiling fans would be the way to go. You can install it in your living room or your loft or even both! The important thing is which spot is directly below it. Just visualize the air force from the ceiling fan pushing out the warm air. Now, think about the spot where hot air usually collects; the spot from which you want to push out most of the hot air. Identifying this spot would make a difference in helping you cool down your loft the way you want it to.
3. Open Your Windows In The Morning And At Night
Rely on your natural environment! Another great tip to enhance cool ventilation would be to open your windows — but only at certain times in the day. Nothing feels better than a cool breeze coming in from outside the house! You have to be strategic about this as certain times of day are hotter than others. Air is the coolest in the early morning and the night, and these are timings you should take advantage of to maximize cool air circulation in your space. If you’re a morning person, you can add “Opening The Windows” to your morning routine. Otherwise, you can just choose to open it at night time to keep your loft cool. It can be a workout to have to keep opening and closing your windows during different times of the day. Also, it’s understandable that not everyone has the time to keep observing the weather too!
4. Figure Out What Window Treatment Works Best For You
Firstly, what type of windows do you have? Windows — be they floor-to-ceiling or regular-sized ones — are most likely glass-panelled. Heat can build up easily if you do not have a suitable window treatment for it. If your building management permits, you could think of having your windows tinted to minimize sunlight and reducing heat build-up. Alternatively, choosing the right type of curtains can help in keeping the heat out. Forget about normal and lightweight curtains. You should look into curtains with blackout fabric or sunshade properties. Like the names suggest, these curtains were made to function as a barrier to block out accumulated heat from sunlight that passes through your windows. For example, consider thermal curtains like Roman shades, roller blinds, full-length thick curtains. These fabrics come in different blackout and sunshade percentages to cater to how much you think would be feasible for your home.
5. Walls Are Your Secret Weapon
What type of walls do you have in your loft? Most lofts are a room with three walls and a railing that separates it from the rest of the space. Take advantage of what you already have and install a curtain on the railing side of the loft to act as a temporary wall. You can draw them apart anytime you want and you can keep them closed to keep the cool air in and the heat out. That way, you can still have access to your view of the lower part of your home from your loft by just drawing them open.
If you have a loft that is more open-concept and spacious, you could consider installing walls in your loft. You might be thinking: No way! Don’t worry — this is not necessary, but it is suggested by experts as a good way to contain cool air in your loft. If you are looking into installing walls, planning its placement can impact the air circulation. You don’t have to enclose the entire loft, but you can consider putting up walls at two ends of the room and still have the railing that overlooks your space. Another important factor would be the materials your wall is made up of. You should use lightweight materials like plywood or fibre-cement boarding.
With some careful planning, you can ensure that there is adequate ventilation in your loft. Hopefully, these tips have helped you cool down your loft.