Keep Your Cool This Summer

An old English weather proverb says "If February give much snow, a fine summer it doth foreshow." so with the end of the current cold snap in sight, maybe now really is the time to look forward to summer and keeping cool. Many motorists consider climate control and car air conditioning necessities during the summer months, but the same is not true of homeowners, with domestic air con units accounting for only a small proportion of the market in the United Kingdom. This is surprising because night-time temperatures can often rise above the optimum "thermo-neutral" temperature required for sleep leading to uncomfortable disturbed nights. Not only can air conditioning help to maintain the temperature and relative humidity of your home, it can also improve the quality of the air that you breathe by capturing pollen and other allergens; this can be of tremendous benefit to hayfever sufferers for example Borneo.

Air conditioning has tended to be the preserve of the wealthy, but as many people abandon a traditional office for a home office, or garden office, they are looking for atmospheric comfort all year round and the industry has responded accordingly. Whole house air conditioning may still cost several thousand pounds but basic portable units are available from around £100 or so and more powerful units from around £200.

Garden buildings nowadays are a far cry from what they once were, with a choice of shapes and sizes available and the possibility of creating a really useful additional living or working space. Some garden buildings offer mezzanine floors and even double glazing, which, when used in combination with an air conditioning and heating unit - two-in-one units suitable for installation in a garden office or log cabin for example are readily, and affordably, available - can create a pleasant, comfortable environment inside whatever the ambient temperature outside.