Homeowners urged to drape camo nets over windows in July – no, we’ve not lost our minds
The last thing you associate camouflage with is cooling. But here's why you should...
If you’re struggling to cool your home, then an unusual cooling hack is being recommended by experts to help prevent excess heat and light from reflecting into your home - and all you need is a camo net (£9.49, Amazon).
Seeing that the best fans and portable air conditioners are practically sold out everywhere, it's time to get creative when looking for easy and affordable ways to cool a home.
Perhaps one of the more bonkers methods I’ve spotted, using a camo net to cover windows or create a shady awning, is an easy way to help cool a room. Here’s why.
The camo net cooling hack
‘Camo nets can be a surprisingly effective and affordable way to keep parts of your home cooler because they create shade before the sun's heat reaches your windows or roof. In cases where there is a heatwave, large windows, skylights, and conservatories will act as greenhouses, letting in sunshine which, in turn, heats your walls, floor, and furnishings,’ explains Max Wilson, co-founder at Pocket Storage.
‘Because they're lightweight and come in large sheets, they can be draped over skylights, stretched across conservatories, fixed above south-facing windows or used to create a temporary awning over a pergola or patio. The idea is not to cool down rooms that have become overheated but to prevent the heating of those rooms at all.’
You may already be aware that one of the best things you can do is keep your curtains and blinds closed during the hottest part of the day. Similarly, it can also be a good idea to block your windows with a reflective material (like B&Q’s £15.99 sun foil) to reflect sunlight from your windows. This is used as part of the caveman cooling method, whereby keeping sunlight out of a room (like a cave) keeps it cool.
‘After the sun's rays have passed through the glass, a large percentage of the heat is contained within the home, which explains why shutting the curtains or blinds once the sun's rays have entered can be less effective than one might think. External shading prevents the solar heat from even reaching the glass,’ says Max.
‘As opposed to a plain tarpaulin, a camo net has gaps in its weave, which allows the wind to blow through freely while still being able to filter out the harmful rays of light from the sun. This gives you shade without shutting out any natural light or trapping a pocket of hot air underneath. It is very much like being under a big tree that makes things cool but allows the wind to blow through.’
If you’re on a budget or renting, a camo net is a good way to create shade without making any permanent or expensive drawbacks; however, Max is keen to point out that it should be used alongside other cooling methods.
‘I would not depend upon it as an absolute remedy. The effectiveness of this technique is maximised when used along with other cooling methods. The windows, curtains, and blinds must be kept shut at the time when it gets too hot outside. When the temperature begins dropping in the evening, the windows should be opened on opposite sides of the house to allow fresh air to flow inside and expel the heat collected within the house,’ he said.
‘If you are buying a camo net for cooling purposes rather than camouflage, it is recommended that you buy a lighter-coloured one. This is because light colours tend to reflect the sun's rays, whereas dark colours absorb the sun's energy. At the end of summer, all you need to do is store the net in a clean, dry place until the next hot season arrives.'
Add this foil to your windows to reflect light and heat away from your windows, keeping your indoors cooler.
An awning can create shade over your windows and looks far more stylish than a camo net.
A parasol can also be used to shade groundfloor windows or balcony doors. This half-parasol shape means it can be pushed up against a wall easily.
‘Ultimately, external shading is the most efficient way to cool down your house, since it stops the heat from entering the building at all. Whether this is camouflage, a shade cloth, or just an awning, stopping the sun from heating your windows will almost always be more effective than cooling down the room after it has been heated up,’ Max concludes.
It may not be the most attractive cooling method, but camo netting is a cheap and effective one. Would you be willing to try it?
