Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

Hi Guys and Gals - My husband and I are shortly to be arriving on the Costa Del Sol and we are wondering how you all cope with the heat. Does anyone know what the temperature is likely to be this year? We imagine that it will be necessary to say in during the day. Is it necessary to have air conditioning? If so is it expensive? Are houses built to withstand the heat/stay cool? Are stone houses better? Presumably it would be better to live by the coast... Thanks for your comments.

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

you can search for the town you are going to on this weather site

you can also look at history for last year - but of course who knows what will happen this year?

yes, it is usually cooler on the coast

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

Don't try and live an English life.

In the hot weather, keep the windows open all night (with mozzie screens) and shut them tight first thing. Keep doors shut all day as the air can feel like a fan assisted oven, and it will warm the inside of the house which will then cook you at night. Get acclimatised, be sensible, do hard work first and last thing, and never let the sun shine into the house.

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

I partly grew up in very hot weather year round (think Darwin, Oz) and my suggestion is keep a fan in every room of your house and use it a lot. We always have had our windows open to let the breeze in and circulate the air, and the fans helped loads.

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

That is no good when the breeze is like a hairdryer. :D

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

Who's going to be the first to point out that summer is a breeze - it's winter that's the killer?

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

Like we say, don't let the breeze in the house at all, as it will heat up the core of the building. The trick is to keep the core as cool as poss.

Don't forget, in a closed room, a fan will actually warm the room.

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

Even on the coast you can expect 35 degrees in high summer, if you can, get a place with air con , inverters are best, if it's your own place, get them fitted. Do your shopping as soon as the shops open in the morning, get home and stay indoors with the aircon on, use ceiling fans at night in the bedroom, or aircon. Good quality inverter aircon isn't that expensive, and the good part is that it can be used as a heater in winter.

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

It does, but moving hot air feels better than still hot air ;)

But yes closing all the windows, with drawing the black drapes helps a bunch. Though you'll be living in a batcave but at least you'll be cool

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

the place we have brought has an air con unit and we have a portable one to bring out as well so should be ok

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

How many €'s per (I assume kWh?) is electricity in your area?

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

we are not sure yet about the cost of electricity but will find out more when we are out late april

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

On the normal domestic tariff it is just over €0.14/Kwh (including taxes).

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

You need to have a portable one that has a ducted exhaust, so you can send the waste aair out of the apartment, otherwise you will be filling your place with the water vapour.

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

Come to Oz mate, you'll fit right in! :thumbup:

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

yes ours has a ducting system to run to the outside

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

AS someone said, it's sounds like the bat cave! :) Think I'd prefer to be a wus and get some a/c fitted.:)

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

Hi in the summer if it comes ? . Go out early get everything you need b4 1pm get home . only open what you can let breeze in if theres any. Have rest or sleep around 4 or 5pm then go out. If your mad go out take plenty water as some days the sweat just runs down you , you'll be in the shower 4x a day , I have mobile a/c try live without it , but use it when i can. But its murder when the heat comes form africa it hit you hard all you can do is take it easy and do nothing, as jdr say its a hair dyer in the air 24/7.

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

This all sounds like an idyllic existence, you all moved to Spain for the weather, and all I read is of people being stuck inside a cold, leaking, damp house for 3-4 months, and when the summer comes you're stuck indoors in the dark trying to cool down! :):rofl: Fortunately, I know that there are a few months that aren't like that.

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

we will cope as we have a big sheltered porch and a spa pool to cool down in as well

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

As much as I hate a/c it is the only way to go for comfort. Keep dipping in the pool otherwise, luckily I love swimming. July and August is awful, maniacs on the roads, traffic jams, packed restaurants and shops. My fav months are May, June and September.

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

yes i agree untill we move over for good we will avoid them months as well not a lot we can do though when we are out there though except stay at home as we are up in the hills anyway

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

My fave months are June, July and August. Where we live, there is quite a lot of wind. So we do jobs (such as shopping and housework) early as other posters have said and meet friends for coffee, usually go home for a late leisurely lunch and siesta outside in the shade, then plunge in the pool and/or go to the beach around 5/6 pm for a couple of hours (sometimes with a picnic) and then eat and relax outside again, sometimes on our own sometimes with friends, until around 2/3 a.m. Although we have aircon we hardly use it as I don't really like it! Useful though for putting on for a short time before going to bed or for putting on when showering and changing to go out. I find a small oscillating fan in the kitchen placed near to where I'm preparing food does the job; also I think ceiling fans are good. We mainly keep windows closed during the day but open at night for the breeze. But it all depends on where you live, what your home is like (ours has a lot of covered terrace which prevents the sun from entering some of the living areas), whether you have to do hard manual work and whether you actually like hot weather.

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

Sheesh.

Batcave my nether regions. We spend the day outside, inside is just for cooling down if you overdo it.

A/C isn't an essential, and what's worse, it means that you have a harder time acclimatising.

Remember that there are other ways of skinning a cat than shoving a 12 bore up its *rse.

When I get my crap together here, one of the techniques I will be looking at is a damp shade. A canvas sunscreen with a supply of water to keep it moist should use evaporation to cool the area beneath it.

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

that sounds good is that like a water spray

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

Yeah, just not so fierce. I was thinking of having the screen on a slope, and then running a low pressure, slow flow to the top and letting the water seep onto the upper surface so that the water wets it, but does not drip onto those below.

In theory, you should be able to sit out with a slow flow of cool air falling over you.

There is another technique whereby water is sprayed out in a very fine spray, and the tiny droplets rip the heat out of the air to vapourise.

That will probably need a juggling act to preven getting wetted, and allowing the cooled air to fall on you.

All interesting stuff, and great fun to play with and design if you are a bit DIY.

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

yes ok with diy being a carpenter/builder so will sort something out no probs, thanks though mate

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

Did anyone go to Expo92 in Sevilla? Some of the main paths had water vapor techniques. Was wonderful in the July heat.

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

I was there in September and really appreciated it.

Shortly afterwards they introduced it in a local town, but it didn't last long.

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

Plaza Mayor and Fuengirola zoo have them.

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

I don't suppose anyone has a link to some (preferably simple) technical stuff, pics or anything?

Re: Coping With The Summer Conditions
 

:) Not true everyone moved here for the weather, however I'm one of those who (almost) can't have it too hot so it's in & out of the pool, cool drink in the shade, maybe spend a bit of time indoors to lie down if 8yo lets me, then more pool,etc etc. I rarely struggle with nighttime temperatures but OH finds it a pain so we have aircon on until he's comfortable & I'm frozen:lol:

I always thought those things at Plaza Mayor were just for the kids!