Anyone live in a new build flat?

scorza

scorza

scorza

Caporegime
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So I've got the hankering to move from to a 2 bed flat, and there's some new build ones coming available in my area. Last time I lived in a flat it had been built in 2001 and I remember it was bloody sweltering in summer (I was there for the great summer of 2003!). Obviously if I do move I'd like to make sure the flat had adequate means cooling, so what sort of things do I need to be looking out for?

Part of the problem is that I'm not really sure why my old flat was so hot. My old man reckons it's lack of insulation that makes properties hot in summer, but my old flat was lovely and warm in winter so I'm not entirely convinced.

I suppose really I'm wondering if anyone lives in a new build flat, what is the temperature inside like when it's hot outside?
 
My new build (2007) isn't too bad, but is hardly super cool either.

It really depends what it's build out of. If it's brick/stone it's likely to be cooler than if it's made out of other/modern materials which tend to heat up quicker, I'd guess colour and which direction it faces would have an impact too (ie if most of its walls face south/west it would get the most sun). My parents house is brick painted white and tend to stay relatively cool on hot days.

Insulation will have an impact too, a well insulated building will struggle to lose heat in the summer once it gets hot.
 
The temperature in my bedroom where there's only one window gets to 26C on a sunny day. The only reason the living room is cooler is there's a window at both ends but if there's no breeze it's still uncomfortable. It really is enough to make me want to move sometimes but at the same time, I never ever have the heating on.
 
Apparently new build flats are often packed with insulation to save on the buildings overall heating bills in winter. Clearly if this is the case, they want to bake the residents in summer.
 
Thing with new builds they are hot in summer and cold in winter. Not helped either by those dinky radiators they install.
 
LeeUK said:
Thing with new builds they are hot in summer and cold in winter. Not helped either by those dinky radiators they install.
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Why would they be cold in the winter? They're normally heavily insulated, double glazed etc.
 
alx said:
Why would they be cold in the winter? They're normally heavily insulated, double glazed etc.
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Not sure but when I was renting, I was in a 2004 built Taylor-Wimpey Nova apartment with garage underneath at one end and access road to parking spaces at other end. It was cold in winter even with the heating cranked up. All the rooms had these small tiny radiators. Don't understand why they can't install proper size ones these days.
 
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My block was built around 8 years ago. They're very well insulated. I'm in the middle of the block.

Hardly have to run the heating in winter. Maybe for a couple of weeks if it's sub zero outside, otherwise it doesn't drop below 16C in the main rooms. Being South facing, in summer closing all the windows/curtains helps stop it heating up while I'm out at work if it's going to be really hot - the insulation keeps the colder night air in.

Inside temperatures in summer tend to be a couple of C over the ambient outside, been seeing 24C this week by mid-evening. Oh and try and get an apartment with a balcony and doors on to it. Modern windows are tiny to keep the heat in, and the living room in the cheaper apartments in my block can get stifling in the summer due to lack of ventilation.
 
My 2nd floor apartment was built in late 2006.

It is often a lot hotter inside than it is outside. Last night when I went to bed (around midnight) it was about 25c and this morning it was 22c (around 7.30).

I've been looking into getting huge ceiling fans. Proper air conditioning is too expensive to install, run and maintain and the portable one I got is very noisy and tbh not that portable.
 
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bazzabear said:
Why would being well insulated make it hotter in summer?
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What about what alx says - makes in difficult for hot air to escape. This is what I suspect is the case, as said in the OP my old man reckons better insulation is the solution to the problem.
 
they are rather warm in the summer months, but crack a window open and all is good

winter they hold onto that heat like no other! heating on in the evening and the next day after work the flat is still 19/20 degrees

the main problems with a lot of flats is because they are so well insulated they get mould easily. I open windows everyday I can and we still get a very small amount of mould
 
I live in a new build, about 8 years old now. It seems well insulated, never had the heating on due although that could be due to the number of flats rented out with the heating running all the time around us.

In the summer it can get too hot, but we have AC (costs a fortune to run), but generally just open the windows and its fine.
 
They're warm when it's hot but we're in England! It's mild/cold most of the time so surely you should be buying based on what it's like in colder weather...?
 
The insulation will prevent the apartment warming up quickly in the summer but once hot it wont cool down until you open some windows.


Where I live in Virgina temperatures have been around 35*C for the last weeks. The day time inside is fine with the insulation, but by the evening the AC is going constantly and will do this right through until 5am when the house is cool. It remains cool back through to the next evening.
 
D.P. said:
The insulation will prevent the apartment warming up quickly in the summer but once hot it wont cool down until you open some windows.
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Exactly. So good insulation combined with the correct behaviours (windows closed during day, open during night) should result in a cooler property, not a hotter one.
 
R4z0r said:
They're warm when it's hot but we're in England! It's mild/cold most of the time so surely you should be buying based on what it's like in colder weather...?
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I've lived in cold homes and I've lived in hot homes, personally I much prefer cold homes - heating in this country is pretty good, cooling not so good. I guess the great summers of 2003 and 2005 were just so unpleasant I am scarred by the memories of them.

Alex_L said:
I live in a new build, about 8 years old now. It seems well insulated, never had the heating on due although that could be due to the number of flats rented out with the heating running all the time around us.

In the summer it can get too hot, but we have AC (costs a fortune to run), but generally just open the windows and its fine.
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You have AC in the UK? Did you install it yourself or was it pre-installed by the builder?
 
24c at 7.30am today in my flat with an outside temp of around 18c. It was 26.5c when I went to bed last night I think.
 
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