How to cool your apartment during a heat wave
The sun is shining and mercury soars. During summer heat waves, apartments can feel boiling hot. Here are some advice to cool your apartment.
Windows and blinds
Close the blinds of the windows that are facing the sun. It is also useful to close the blinds even for windows that are not facing the sun. This will prevent the sun from warming the rooms.
Open the windows at night so that cooler air flows into the building. However, keep the windows closed during daytime.
Intake air vents
Adjust the intake vents on the sunny side of the house so that less air flows through them. On the opposite side of the house, where the intake vents are in the shade, adjust these intake vents so that they allow more air flow. This makes sure that the air flowing into the building is cooler.
You should note that you must not completely close the intake vents because this will cause problems with the ventilation system and the indoor air will become stale.
Ventilation unit with heat recovery system
New buildings are often equipped with a ventilation unit with heat recovery system. Even though the ventilation unit is not an air conditioner, it will help you to cool your apartment a bit. Adjust the ventilation unit so that it does not recover heat from the exhaust air in order to warm the intake air.
During heat waves you can also increase the performance of the ventilation unit at night.
Fan
Fans can feel helpful during heat waves. However, a fan in a room does not cool your apartment but rather moves the air. This can make the room feel cooler.
Ventilation during heat waves is problematic for homes with a passive ventilation system
A well-functioning ventilation system brings fresh air into a building and removes stale air. Older buildings often have a passive ventilation system. In a passive ventilation system, the pressure difference of outdoor and indoor air causes the air to circulate in building.
When the indoor air temperature is on the same level or above the outside air temperature, the ventilation does not work properly because the stale indoor air will not be removed. On the contrary, the warm outdoor air may flow into the building, which makes the situation even worse.
Update the passive ventilation system into a smart and automatic system
An easy solution for updating the passive ventilation system into a mechanical ventilation system is VILPE ECo Ideal Wireless. It is a smart system that keeps the indoor air fresh. VILPE ECo Ideal Wireless is an affordable solution with lots of useful features: It is quick and easy to install, wireless and automatic; energy and cost efficient.
- A Relative humidity or a CO2 sensor detects that the house needs more efficient ventilation, for example, after a shower or when there are guests.
- The information of the sensor is transmitted through the control unit to a VILPE FLOW roof fan.
- The roof fan is activated to work more effectively to remove stale indoor air. Since the system is automatic, you do not have to worry about adjusting the ventilation yourself and can focus on enjoying the summer to its fullest.
As a part of VILPE ECo Ideal Wireless system, the VILPE Wive intake vents should also be installed in the building. The VILPE Wive intake vents bring fresh air into the apartment.
