Scorching temperatures are set to return again next week, with hot weather back on Tuesday and slowly getting hotter and hotter until Friday, when the Met Office predicts 30C conditions will bake the UK again particularly in the south of England. But as many of us across the UK desperately search for ways to cool down, you might not realise that there are appliances in your house that are kicking out heat and contributing to making your house even warmer.
British homes are notoriously bad at getting rid of heat. Because of our temperate climate, most properties here are designed solely around trapping and containing heat inside, rather than losing it. That’s great on a chilly winter morning but not so good in the grip of a heatwave, especially as most UK houses don’t have air conditioning.
And you might not realise that many appliances are actually making your home even hotter.
The worst for heat are halogen lights. Light bulbs kick out heat as well as light, unless they are energy efficient LEDs. If you’ve still got halogen lights (such as those found in many spotlights in kitchens and bathrooms), you will be heating your home by accident during the hot weather.
If you’re not sure, hold your fingers up to the bulb. If you can feel the heat coming off it, it’s almost certainly halogen, which not only produce lots of heat but are also very expensive to run. To sort the issue, swap them for LED lights, which don’t give off any heat and are much cheaper to run.
TVs are another source of heat. Whether it’s a basic LED or a fancy OLED, all TVs produce a lot of heat when they’re switched on. Cutting back on telly use can help cool your house down.
Plugged into that TV, a games console or a gaming PC especially are bad for heat. While a Nintendo Switch doesn’t produce too much heat thanks to its mobile chipset, a PS5 or an Xbox Series X pump out quite a lot of heat and if they’re in a confined space like an entertainment unit, running them in a heatwave could actually damage the chips inside as they will run too hot while also heating up your room.
A gaming PC is worst of all, kicking out furious amounts of heat and is a bad idea to run during the hot weather.
Those are the main three types of item you can turn off to save heat, but there are some other obvious appliances to consider. Ovens – obviously – produce a lot of heat while even dishwashers and fridges will raise the temperature in your house. You can’t really avoid having a fridge on, but you could run the dishwasher later at night when the temperature has come down.
As Home Energy Extension explains: “Appliances that give off heat when running include lighting (specifically incandescent and halogen lighting), televisions, dishwashers, stoves, and refrigerators.
“In order to find new appliances that give off less waste heat, it is important to look for ENERGY STAR® rated appliances. If you cannot afford to replace appliances right now, then consider running your heat generating appliances in the evening when temperatures are cooler, and don’t run a number of heat generating appliances at the same time.”
British Gas backs this up, as it urges households to eat outside when conditions are warmest instead of using their oven or hob.
It adds: “Using the oven or hob can create extra warmth so instead of unnecessarily heating up your kitchen, take advantage of warm summer evenings in the garden instead. Fire up the BBQ or throw together a healthy summer salad.”