Sun stoppers: seven ways to keep your home cool this summer
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- Stuart Dantzic of the British Blind & Shutter Association says external shading rejects up to three times more solar heat than internal blinds or curtains, and Tom Greenhill of the Heatwave Toolkit argues "air conditioning will cool the privileged but will not work for the many — or the environment."
- Velux sells external awning blinds from £80 and anti-heat blackout shutters for £530 plus £166 for electric control, marketing indoor temperature reductions of up to 5°C.
- Bojana Bajzelj in Exeter cooled her kitchen by 2-4°C by draping a £5 Ikea Bärglim king-size fitted sheet over her ground-floor skylights, a measure Greenhill recommends as the cheapest fix for renters and tight budgets.
- After neighbours were admitted to hospital with heat-related illness during the June heatwave, Greenhill pointed them to Shaded's £89 clip-on mini awnings — currently sold out, restocking within a fortnight with 10% off orders of two or more.
- Caribbean Blinds, the UK's largest external shading manufacturer, quotes £3,000-£4,000 for external roller blinds on a typical set of bifold doors and £4,000-£6,000 for awnings; Scottish Shutter Company prices exterior aluminium shutters from £1,450 per window.
Why it matters: UK homes are poorly adapted for heat and June's heatwave already put people in hospital, yet experts argue external shading outperforms air conditioning on cost, equity, and effectiveness. External products reject up to three times more solar heat than internal blinds, and the £5-to-£6,000 price spread gives most households a viable option — though renters without drilling rights are largely limited to sub-£110 temporary fixes like clip-on awnings and solar sails.
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