Cheaper alternatives to air conditioning for UK homes

Why it's worth trying the alternatives first

In a typical UK home, the hottest rooms are the ones with the most glass facing the sun. Air conditioning can cool those rooms, but it costs money to buy, install and run, and a portable unit has to vent hot air out through a window to work properly. Tackling the heat at the glass is usually cheaper and works every day without being switched on.

The alternatives, from cheapest up

Close up during the day, open up at night

Keep windows, curtains and blinds closed on sun-facing glass during the hottest part of the day, and open windows when it's cooler outside than in, usually overnight and early in the morning. Opening windows on opposite sides of the house lets air move through.

Fans

A fan doesn't cool the air, but moving air makes you feel cooler. A fan placed to push warm air out of an open window in the evening helps the room cool faster.

Light-coloured blinds and curtains

Pale, lined blinds and curtains reflect more sunlight than dark ones. They help most when closed, which also means losing the light and the view.

External shading

Awnings, shutters, shade sails, pergolas and trees stop the sun before it reaches the glass, which makes them very effective. They change how the house looks, and some need planning permission, particularly on listed homes or in conservation areas.

Solar control window film

Film works at the glass itself, rejecting a share of the sun's heat and glare before it builds up in the room, and it works all the time without blocking the view. It's most useful on large areas of sunny glass, such as conservatories, glass extensions and rooflights.

Air conditioning

If a room is still too hot after reducing the heat coming in, air conditioning will be smaller, cheaper to run and more effective than it would have been otherwise.