Overheating

Higher temperatures could lead to traditional buildings being more likely to overheat. However, many traditional vernacular buildings are well adapted to reduce the risk this because they often have small windows (minimising solar gain) and thick walls (giving the building a high thermal mass and decrement delay).

Despite these positive constructional characteristics, some traditional buildings may overheat during summer months, particularly those with large south facing windows which some Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian buildings have. In buildings where this happens, there are various interventions owners can considered implementing to mitigate the risk. This includes:

• Removable window film to reflect UV light

• Using shutters/reinstating historic shutters

• Fitting awnings

• Mechanical ventilation/heating unit which has built in air con

You should always start with the lowest cost and least invasive measures first to see how they work and to ensure that you don’t cause inadvertent damage to the building fabric or its historic significance. If you live in a listed building, some works to mitigate the impacts of overheating might require Listed Building Consent. If you need advice on this, then you should use the Council’s pre-application advice service.

Further information

Historic England’s Overheating in Historic Buildings

The Building Conservation Directory, Awnings and Canopies

Overheating - pdf - 153 Kb