Whether you are taking care of a young family or your aging parent, it is necessary that you know how to properly manage heat inside your house. Although for most people the sun-filled months are the best times for fun, the biggest mistake you can make is to overlook the dangers triggered by the overwhelming summer temperatures. Without a proper management of heat inside the house, the excessive heat can cause health problems such as heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps and heat rash among other challenges.
Keep Everyone Well Hydrated
When it is hot, the body responds by sweating. Sweating helps the body to cool down and thus, the hotter your house is, the more you and your loved ones will sweat. Unfortunately, although sweating is very beneficial to your body, too much sweating makes you more susceptible to dehydration. Dehydration occurs when the body is using more water than it is taking in resulting in various health conditions such as dry mouth, weakness, dizziness, lightheadedness, muscle cramps and fainting. To avoid dehydration, you should make sure that everyone in your house is drinking water or drinks regularly even if they are not thirsty.
Properly manage your Body Heat
If your body is working very hard to maintain a stable core temperature, you may experience heat exhaustion, which may cause the life-threatening heat stroke. Heat exhaustion can happen to anyone, whether you are indoors or outdoors. The symptoms of heat exhaustion include nausea, headache, weakness, vertigo, fainting and thirst cramps while the symptoms of heat stroke include irrational behavior, confusion, convulsions, high blood pressure and loss of consciousness. To avoid heat exhaustion and heat stroke, you should make sure that you are properly dressed. You should also take regular cool breaks when cleaning or while working in your house.
Use a Zoned HVAC System
Zoning for HVAC is necessary if some areas of your home are unoccupied for long or if you are using a variable capacity or a two-stage HVAC system with variable speed. Zoning helps to keep your house comfortable while offering great energy saving benefits. With a zoned HVAC system, you can set different areas of your house to receive a disproportionate amount of cooling depending on your needs.
Make Sure That Everyone is Well Trained
The major cause of heat-related conditions is the lack of knowledge on how to mitigate the problem. Making sure that every person in your house is aware of the hazards that cause heat stress can greatly help to reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses. You should also make sure that all your loved ones clearly know what to do if they experience symptoms of heat-related illnesses.
Adopt Good Work Practices
The fact that it is summer does not mean that you will not do your normal chores in the house. However, you should change your work schedule. Heavier work should be done during the cool times of the day such morning or evening. If you will be working during the day, you should make sure that you are taking regular breaks.
Although the excessive heat in the summer is unavoidable, proper training and implementing preventive measures such as the installation of zoned HVAC can make sure that you are exposed to the extreme heat conditions. “You should wear proper clothes, preferably those that are loose fitting and breathable.”
For further advice on heating and hotwater management visit 2red.co.uk