Incredible heatwave set to scorch Britain for another week

2018 has been a pretty funny year for extreme weather. If March’s Beast from the East wasn’t enough, just a few months later we’re experiencing one of the hottest summers that the UK has seen in years. It’s been a busy few weeks for air conditioning systems all over the country! But, you may be thinking, come on. It’s no hotter than it is every summer, right? Well, you might be surprised…!

How hot is it really?

We’ll save a bit of time quickly here at Askews, and just say: very. (Though you probably knew that already.) According to official figures, this has now been one of the longest heatwaves for more than 40 years, and it’s not set to cool off for a little while yet. In fact, professional forecasters predict that high atmospheric pressure will cause the hot weather to continue across the UK for at least another week, possibly even longer.

We seriously can’t overstate the importance of making good use of your air conditioning in this weather. In case you needed any more persuasion, one of the highest temperatures recorded recently has been 30.7C. On the whole, we’ve been consistently averaging into the mid-twenties. If you’ve been unlucky enough to have your car’s air conditioning not working properly, you may have even experienced highs of up to 30C!

As you might imagine, under these sorts of conditions water usage is becoming a bit of a concern for some people, with several water companies having to release explicit statements asking people to watch their usage. For the most part, we’re OK for now – but keeping cool is still the top priority for most people. That’s where we come in!

3 reasons why it’s important to make good use of your air conditioning

It’s far more effective than opening a window

When temperatures rise above tolerable levels, especially in an office, the first instinct of many people is to open a window. If there’s a breeze at that particular moment, this can provide some short-term relief – but otherwise, it’s not always a helpful solution! Mostly, the window solution simply opens you up to even warmer air from outside, and doesn’t encourage decent air circulation within your home office. If you’re wondering why opening a window sometimes doesn’t seem to do anything, that’s why! Air conditioning, on the other hand, is designed to circulate cool air round a closed environment. As long as you don’t let any escape through open windows, it’s a far more efficient solution!

It’s less disruptive to productivity

In order to properly keep an entire room cool, many offices have to resort to using particularly large fans. And as anyone who’s ever been in a room with them can attest, they tend to sound like an aircraft taking off. That’s not to mention the traffic noise that can also leak in from open windows, or the occasional winged, six-legged visitors that can be a hassle to shoo out again. (Insects can rattle some staff worse than others, and you never know who until there’s one in the room!)

By using air conditioning, on the other hand, you can neatly sidestep all these distractions – allowing your staff to keep working calmly and comfortably despite the immense heat outside.

Don’t forget, you have a responsibility to the health of your employees – and yourself!

As with insects, some staff can be more vulnerable to the heat than others. Heatstroke, dehydration and fainting are all summer dangers that might seem a little outlandish at first, right up until you have to deal with the first instance of them! You ultimately have a responsibility to keep your staff safe as long as they’re at work, and that includes protecting them from dangers that might arise from extreme heat. Keeping them cool (and therefore safe) is far easier once you’ve invested in an air con system. And don’t forget, always apply the same rules to yourself as well!

Here at Askews, air conditioning is something of a speciality for us. Our highly trained heating, ventilation and air conditioning engineers are adept at installation, maintenance and repair of your air con systems, making their skills highly sought-after in this weather! Click here to get your free quote, or give us a call on 01282 863825. We’re here to help!

View All