After months of wishing the summer weather would arrive, the sun finally awoke in July and hit us in the UK, with a heat wave …. wow was everyone feeling it! Like most homes we were struggling to sleep! The heat at night time was really uncomfortable and then I read a great tip about opening our loft hatches to let some heat escape into the roof void. It made a massive difference to the heat on the top floor of our home, and i wish we had thought about doing it earlier!
Along with unexpected sudden heat, both day and night, we also had sudden strong glare from sunlight – which for some homes can be particularly unbearable. The sun doesnt need to make a room unbarebly hot or uncomfortable to sit in. Simple things can be done to achieve more comfortable living conditions in a room, by focusing on the windows/doors and glass. There are so many different types of glass available now and Low-E glass (low-emissivity/low emittance glass) acts as a reflective glass and can be used in windows, doors & in conservatory roofs. It is a simple way to deal with the summer heat from the sun. On hot summer days, light can pass through, but the heat from the sun will reflect it back out again. On cold winter nights, more of the heat generated inside your home will stay there instead of leaking out through your windows.
There are also a variety of anti sun glass options available, clear and tinted in colours such as grey, blue and bronze. Self cleaning anti sun glass is available and ideal for glass roofs. There really is no reason to let the glare from the sun spoil your enjoyment of your home, orangery or conservatory. The good news is that to replace glass units it is surprisingly not as expensive as you first think!