MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann lives in an attic apartment. The best trick against the oppressive heat is not an air conditioner, but so-called honeycomb pleats. Because these effectively keep the heat out during the day.
When it gets hot outside, we quickly notice it in the apartment. The sun shining through the windows heats up the living spaces. Especially in an apartment under the roof, you feel this more intensely, and it’s better to avoid jumping into a cold shower.
If you don’t have money or space for an air conditioner or simply lack the building permit to install one in the apartment, you have to get creative. And the most effective method for me was investing in so-called honeycomb or double pleats.
I use pleats from the manufacturer Aluguard, with which I have had good experiences over the years. But any brand that you can buy on Amazon or at the hardware store works, as long as they are honeycomb or double pleats.
Honeycomb pleats effectively insulate the room against heat
What is exactly the advantage of this? Honeycomb or double pleats consist of two fabric layers connected to each other. In profile, they form a honeycomb structure with air chambers. This trapped layer of air acts like a natural cushion that catches and insulates the sun’s heat. The inside of our pleats is also coated with aluminum to reflect the sun.
Simply put, this means: The room heats up significantly slower because the sun is reflected back. Conversely, it works the same way: If you heat the room in winter, you need to heat less because the heat stays in the room and doesn’t escape quickly through the cold window.
And I can actually measure the advantage: If it’s 35 or 36 degrees outside in summer, it is effectively more like 25 to 28 degrees inside. In my opinion, that is a significant improvement. For the measurement, I use a hygrometer from the manufacturer ThermoPro.
What disadvantages are there? During the day, it is almost completely dark in the room despite bright sunshine because the pleats almost completely darken the room. And the cats hate that they can no longer look outside. Additionally, not every size fits every window, and custom sizes can get really expensive.
Another point that should not be forgotten: After several hours, the air in the room becomes stuffy, as the pleats only keep the sun outside but naturally do not let fresh air in. Once you ventilate and open the window, you still let the heat into the room.
In Southern Europe, they hang in almost every household: ceiling fans. Especially during the current heat wave in Germany and large parts of Europe, they could be an underestimated remedy against tropical nights. You can read more about it on MeinMMO: Severe heat in Germany: The solution could be something that hangs in almost every house in the south
Your opinion is important to us!
Do you like the article? Then let us know!