Chris J

21c today, after a Sunny morning we got a few showers, but no Storms although they seemed to appear either side of us. 29c in the office, and I suspect having no opening windows its going to take a while for the heat to drop to more tolerable levels. Hopefully it will be well on the way to doing that when i'm next due in on Thursday. Frost and Winter can't come soon enough.

We are living inside large ad-hoc storage heaters. The bricks heat up over a period of time, and then freely radiate the heat stored in them, it won't start coming down until the fabric of the building cools. My upstairs rooms are at a similar temperature, in fact at this moment in time its 4c hotter inside than outside, it'll probably take my bedroom 2 days or so of 'normal' temperatures outside before it cools back to a habitable temperature. Looks like another hot and humid one here, 25c and 81% humidity pegged for this Afternoon, as the sweat-a-thon continues. A very light shower this morning, followed by yet another appearance of the evil sun, has left a heavy, tropical feel to the air, along with a smell like wet wallpaper!. Started with another heat related symptom today, an intensely itchy patch of skin behind my knee. Not sure if its related to irritation from the fluid inside the swollen leg or some sort of heat / sweat rash but its doing my head in. Sat here with it covered in pink calamine lotion like i've got the pox...... I honestly can't remember a period of time where I was suffering so many heat related irritations - of both mind and body!. Thunderstorms in Macclesfield yesterday Evening, which is about 12 miles from me, but absolutely nothing here. Looks like we are going to miss out on any exciting end to the week from hell.

There are fireworks being let off a few streets away, I'd like to think it was like minded people celebrating to approaching close of the heat but probably not!

That is the point, they don't struggle with it so they can never understand, and you'll turn into a cobweb covered skeleton even attempting to try and reason with that. I really wouldn't let it bother you, we can't do anything to change the current weather situation anymore than they could change what was seen by them to be their unfavourable conditions throughout August. But we do at least have our own space on the net to share our hatred of heat. Never the twain shall meet etc. I don't get the inability of fully grown adults on and offline to just accept that some people prefer different conditions, deal with it and move on. Unfortunately Forums by their very nature do seem to attract more trolls than Norway. Best you can do is not to rise and engage with it.

No sign of any relief here yet. Its clouded over and gone hazy which seems to have increased the humidity to galactic levels in the last hour and i'm sitting here sweating like a 52 plate transit van on an MOT ramp. Forecast has it still at 21c at 1AM, and a wind speed of 1mph so the Met Office seem to agree on the no relief angle too. Although it cools to 18c by Dawn its still no cause for Celebration and I predict yet another sleepless night ahead. 25c as the Max forecast for tomorrow, but still an awful lot of sun. Given the Met Office like to swap and change on the actual day, I wouldn't be surprised to see another 26c or 27c here by 4PM I'd do cartwheels if tomorrow changed to show 95% risk of rain all day, every day next week. For now the best I can hope for is a 30% risk of a light shower at 9AM tomorrow. Blink and you'll miss it, if it even does happen!. Tell me again about these wild storms we are supposed to be getting!.........

In Honesty I tend to avoid the thread just like somebody who hates Mcdonald's wouldn't go and spend time sitting in Mcdonalds and complain about being there - life is too short and I don't have time or energy to engage anybody in post to post combat in any Mumsnet style Dramas purely because my preference is different to theirs and I too have an opinion!. Its honestly not worth increasing your blood pressure over. I'm also Grumpy during Hot Weather but many would say they haven't noticed much difference. I've said this before, but its still applicable. I know many people who think its "not warm" until it hits 25c, but who will moan and complain like a toddler on a sugar rush if somebody turns up the heating thermostat to 20c in Winter. Unfortunately hypocrisy is something we are very good at in the UK. Its our one spectacular success!.

I was born in 1973, I don't think there were any notable heatwaves that year. Although I was 3 when the 1976 heatwave took place - obviously I was too young to remember any trauma from it though. I do remember when I was about 7 or 8 though going to Tenby in Wales during the School holidays and it was so hot we all burned our feet on the Sand walking back to the car. I suffered heat stroke effects & sickness that night and it is something I vividly remember even now so perhaps it had something to do with it. Never thought about a possible connection until now. But I spent my Childhood years as far back as I can remember hating the heat, to the point where my parents couldn't take me abroad, it was always Butlins or Pontins and I was a child who always preferred rain and Winter to sun and Summer. In fact i've never even flown on a plane and have only ever been out of the UK once and that was a road trip with some mates across Europe to Croatia in 2008 via a Ferry and I found parts of Europe too hot for me even in early April. I haven't and won't be repeating it!. Having just entered my fifties and exactly like a lot of others on here, heat now isn't just a preference it also affects and triggers various health conditions - (never get old!!)

Overnight cool downs are just something other people get!. Cheshire seems to be the current epi-centre this week of high overnight temperatures and zero breeze!. It didn't get lower than 21c overnight here in the seventh circle of hell although it felt much warmer than that outside even at 5AM - sultry almost tropical even with the air completely still. 26c was the lowest it got to indoors so i've reached the point now where the night time temperature indoors is as high as the daytime temperature outdoors - so subjected to an endless 24 hour loop of the same conditions - no escape or relief. Suffice to say I spent most of the night sat outside. Given the number of lights repetitively going on and off all night in the surrounding neighbours' houses i'm guessing I wasn't the only one finding it impossible to sleep. In essence in this Country there isn't really anything you can do at 30c that you can't do just the same at 22c. Although I can think of plenty of things I could do at 22c that I can't do at 30c - sleep being one of them!. I think most non weather enthusiasts would much rather conduct their weekend activity's at 22c than 30c, so 30c is just completely pointless, especially in September. So I think there are a lot of people out there silently hating every second of this especially at night but who don't have the inclination to seek out a support group. There are also plenty of comments on social media threads and media comments with people professing to be 'hibernating' in their homes in the dark with the doors and windows closed counting down the hours until it ends - which pretty much sums up my weekend plans. Having experienced 40c for a day last year and 27c and endless Sun pretty much every day last week since Monday, I can honestly say that this long spell of 27c has been more detrimental to both my health and mood than a one shot day of 40c. I think if given the choice I would much rather have one day of 40c provided it was then 18c for the rest of the month!. I would find that far more manageable than the current conditions.

27c here currently and with t-shirt drenching humidity. There is a theme here, as its been 27c every day here since Monday!. 25c in the home office, 28c in the bedroom.

The problem with the UK is that its not Australia or Spain (Thankfully!) and for large parts of the year generation from Wind and Sun whilst covering domestic needs during these kind of periods in the Spring / Summer, still rely on subsidy of power drawn from the Grid during the Evenings and on a cold misty day in Winter or a very large expensive battery bank!. Even the large scale systems suffer in relation to grid feed. Take today for example, £32 billion nationally spent on Wind Turbines and at the moment, they are generating less than 0.5% of our national energy requirements. If it was a calm cloudy day rather than a heatwave, then unfortunately 'Green' forms of energy such as Wind and Sun would be contributing barely anything today, and for a large percentage of the year, cloudy and calm is a factor for this Country. G. B. National Grid status WWW.GRIDWATCH.TEMPLAR.CO.UK In short, energy costs will ride high in the UK until a cheaper means of energy generation can be found and we closed all of our coal generating plants 15 years before anybody else leaving ourselves energy bereft with only Gas to make up the shortfall - which is increasing in price leading to the highest electricity prices in history. Technology such as the Rolls Royce small modular reactors may be one such way forward as we need a constant scalable output, not the variable day to day nature of wind and sun. Personally, i'd have rather backed that project with £32 billion rather than spending it on Wind Turbines having seen their current contribution. Sadly we backed the wrong horse some years ago and will be paying for it in our bills for many years whilst at the same time our usage and reliance on Electricity increases as EV's and Heat Pumps and even Air Conditioning needs get rolled out. Crazy times ahead. Sorry...straying off topic.

Also make sure that whoever installs your system offers a guarantee for both parts and labour on ALL of the parts within the system for at least the length of your original installation cost payback period. I've heard plenty of horror stories of people having to buy new inverters even before they recouped their original outlay from the installation. You really don't want to be spending money on replacing expensive parts BEFORE you have actually started saving money!. Its common for some manufacturers to offer up to 25 years warranty on panels but only 1 - 5 years on the inverter. MTBF Odds definitely in their favour on that one...... So, if you calculate that your installation will take 10 years for you to make your original £6000 outlay back in energy savings, then make sure that all of the parts have a warranty for at least those 10 years. If you have to pay £1000 for a new inverter 3 years into that, then the clock extends on the payback and your installation could always be in debt to you. There is a placebo effect of paying £6000 for the installation, then seeing the reduction in energy cost and immediately thinking you are saving money. In reality you aren't, that only begins when you have saved that £6000. From £6000.01 then you are saving money until that point your savings in energy are simply paying off the intial installation cost. Strangely This is often a point missed off the glossy brochures and sales patter. That advice applies with battery banks too. Make sure the cells and BMS all have long warranties. Finally, choose an installer who has been around for a while. If "The happy dragon solar installation company" go bust 3 years after your installation, you may end up with a 10 year warranty worth nothing from that point. Read the small print as to who is underwriting the warranty.

Have a look at the IQOOL-SMART15HP these are a halfway house between having a portable Air con with a hose hanging out of the window and a full blown split unit with inside and outside units as they don't need an outside unit hanging off the wall or planning permission in areas which may require it. They can be DIY fitted too as they come pre-charged and so no need to have approval to handle and connect refrigerant gases. They just need a couple of 7" holes core drilled and a smaller one for the condensate. They are also heat pump based, so you get cheaper heat from the unit during Winter too. They are more expensive than a portable air con but are more flexible having the heat option and not having to stuff up gaps around an open window. If I wanted to just cool down a small building or certain rooms, £850 a unit will work out far cheaper for heating / cooling 3 or 4 rooms than a full blown Heat Pump system along with the upheaval of lifting floor boards and carpets to lay new piping, fit massive radiators and the cost of specialist fitment. These can be fitted yourself or by the local handyman service. One thing to keep in mind is that the UK has one of the highest Electricity prices in the world at 30p / kwh, and with Wind and Solar often only generating 5% of our total grid needs I don't see reliance on CCGT powered by expensive Gas to generate the bulk of our energy changing for at least the next decade. So I think for house heating then Gas and even heating oil will still remain the cheaper option for a while regardless of what the Government and Green Taliban say. They simply haven't got anything else to switch to, in order to make it cheaper!. So the running costs should obviously be kept in mind. This unit will cost just over 30p an hour to run in Air con mode at current average prices, but under 30p for heat. I have relatives in Jersey who pay 18p kwh for Electricity and 8p kwh for Heating Electricity (similar to E10). That price is with both Jersey Electric and the French Energy company they buy it from making huge profits! so it just shows how much over the odds we are paying here Buy electriQ iQool 12000 BTU Wall Mounted Smart Air Conditioner with Heat Pump - No Outdoor Unit Needed from Aircon Direct WWW.AIRCONDIRECT.CO.UK Buy electriQ iQool 12000 BTU Wall Mounted Smart Air Conditioner with Heat Pump - No Outdoor Unit Needed from Aircon Direct

Woah there!. We've today and the weekend to get through yet and things can change in the coming week and we could just as easily be in this same situation later in the month. I've only been on this forum a short time, but already read premature mutual back slapping on this very thread about how any chance of hot weather has now gone...at the end of August. When the hot weather nobody was expecting did appear, we then re-assured ourselves that the Sun is never strong in September and our houses will never get as hot as they do in the Summer!. I'm not out to spoil anybody's hopes and dreams, and yet here many of us are, trying to sleep in houses which turn into Greenhouses and bedrooms just as every bit as uncomfortable as they would have been in similar temperatures back in July. Science says 30c is 30c regardless of what month it appears. Each to their own, but personally i'm waiting until Mid October before letting my guard down!. I'm not superstitious in any way but I think its always a case of being very careful what you wish for. Some back in August weren't so cautious and look what happened. In the meantime I spent most of the night playing with Fans directed at bowls of ice, and hanging wet sheets in front of Windows. Needless to say all that happened was that I got hot and sweaty from the humidity from the effort, and ended up even more uncomfortable and annoyed than if i'd just lay on the bed wide awake feeling sorry for myself!. I'll never get acclimatised to the heat and humidity, but I think I am becoming acclimatised to lack of sleep.....

Still 24c outside, 25c in the living room and 28c in the Bedroom. Sleep will be evasive again tonight. I envy those who get a breeze overnight, not even a hint of one here at the moment just endless oppressive humidity hanging thick in the outside air. I've currently got a 20" floor fan blasting outside air into the hallway through the open front door, and a couple of desk fans on the bedroom window sill drawing air in from the open windows in the hope of lowering the upstairs temperature even a degree or so. It didn't drop below 25c upstairs last night despite the ad-hoc fan arrangement forcing in the outside air, and I expect to see about the same by 5AM tomorrow morning. 3c to drop then........

Yes, if the Government are serious about backing their stance on climate change, then they need to be backing this up with actual actions, maximum workplace temperatures need to be brought in, and perhaps even a new set of working hours for offices, factories etc which start earlier and so avoid the hottest part of the day. I currently hybrid work, three days WFH and two in the office - usually Mon and Thurs. I'm the only one out of the team who does still WFH and I managed to plead an extension after lockdown ended, by requesting flexible working adaptions for health reasons. Unfortunately, I can't get a full time WFH contract out of my employer otherwise I would have sold up and buggered off to live on the Shetlands well before this September heat malarky.

Well as predicted another hot and sunny day here. Despite the original forecast of Sunny Spells and Cloud, by 9AM the cloud had burned off, leaving another day of unbroken sun. What was immediately noticeable was the humidity, it hit me like a wall when I opened the front door and I was already sweating by the time I got into the car. It got to 37 inside the Office, and i've just spent what can only be described as the day from hell trying to do a quality audit. Unfortunately the lymphedema is now at its peak and my left leg is about three times the size of my right. Returned home to find a nasty red rash starting, i'm really hoping its just the heat and swelling and it won't continue to spread, as I really don't want another bout of Cellulitis. Bloody hot weather.

If I could arrange a full time remote WFH arrangement out rather than Hybrid i'd be checking out properties even further North - in Shetland!. Can't do with this misery every Summer / Autumn especially when it stops being a 48 hour affair and just drags on and on.

Still sunny here...... unfortunately. 24c locally, 25c indoors my home office, Forecast says it will hit 27c outdoors between 4 and 6pm this Afternoon and I can believe it, given its reached that for the last couple of days. Today already has more of an oppressive feel with it, or perhaps that is just my mood given what is to come. The cloudfest which was forecast for tomorrow, has now turned into Sunny Spells for most of the day, and I expect further 'downgrades' to wall to wall sun by the morning. We seem to attract clear skies and wall to wall sunshine like a magnet currently, its one stagnant dirge. The various weather apps may as well just stick a huge evil looking Sun over Forecasts for this area between now and Monday, as I have this horrible feeling that is how its going to turn out. Unfortunately I have to venture into the Work Office tomorrow. Not looking forward to coming out of hibernation whatsoever as my colleagues tell me its baking in there today. Not as bad as the indoor temperatures that Markyo is probably having to tolerate, but you can see it from there.

Well the sun has come up with its usual "i'm going to make your day really, really uncomfortable & miserable" confidence. Sadly no relief from any cloud or mist here, not even a breeze.

27c here again today, same as yesterday and again tomorrow. Wednesday night suggests 21c at 4AM - so much for the longer nights!. London style overnight temperatures without the living expenses!. Absolutely no breeze here at all to do any cooling.

Didn't get lower than 26c in the bedroom last night, currently 24.5c in my home office as I get ready to start work, managed to get a couple of hours sleep then just gave up!. Still much cooler than the 33c+ that it will be in the office at work today and for that I am thankful, but i'm not seeing the lower indoor temperatures that some thought that September would bring. 27c forecast for here today with wall to wall sun, the same as yesterday. Same old dirge The Windows were open all night, and the front door has been wide open since I got up at 4.45 but its only cooled the house by about a degree. I'd rather not think about how bad its going to be with the increased humidity from Wednesday. 14c on Shetland today. Wish we were starting to see those temperatures here!.

27c outside here currently, and had just hit 32c in the office when I left. Back home and its 26c indoors with windows and curtains closed all day. If i'd just woke up from a Coma i'd swear it was July!. Its still showing 22c here at midnight tonight, so not sure sleep will come easily tonight. I guess the start of several days sleep deprivation. What joy!. WFH for the next few days, but not looking forward to being back in the Office on Thursday, it'll be high 30's in there by then for sure. Guess I should be celebrating that its not July, but that's a hollow victory. Unfortunately once I get above my level of heat tolerance, whether its 27c or 35c its a coin toss, as each is just as intolerable and has exactly the same effect on both health and mobility. Its just the degree of misery which changes with the degrees in temperature.

Well tomorrow's temps here have been upgraded from 24c to 26c on the Met Office app, only lagging about 2c below those forecasted for London. Unbroken Sun here today. Currently spending today in Hibernation.

I sympathise, my office is above a commercial launderette, and so warm and almost tropically humid even in Winter due to all of the generated heat and steam rising, it also has no opening windows either, so no overnight cool down and the heat just collects like a big storage heater and stagnates over a warm spell to the point where even at 8AM it hits you like a solid humid, musty wall when you walk in first thing the Morning. I'm fortunate that I WFH some days (part of workplace adaption for health reasons), but am still due in two days later next week for meetings, at the time where it will probably be easily mid 30's in there which wearing a suit for 9 hours in it, with nowhere to go to cool off should be great fun. No doubt if somebody was transporting cattle in those conditions, they would quite rightly be prosecuted. But when it comes to the tax paying cattle, extended uncomfortable and potentially unhealthy working conditions with no upper temperature limits are all perfectly acceptable as long as you rock up and clock in as usual!. I suffer from lymphedema, which is greatly worsened by hot and humid conditions potentially leading to a serious infection. So I reckon i'm going to spend the week with one leg several times larger than the other, wrapped in compression bandages to stop if from 'leaking'. Yeah, summer and hot weather, great fun for all......what is there not to love!.

Yep, as predicted last night, I get another 12 hour day of unbroken sun from Dawn to Dusk on Thursday. Utterly abysmal weather, this is shaping up to become another June in this part of the Country, with weeks of Blue Skies and Sun but without the breeze and a good few degrees hotter by both day and night. 16c - 17c in Shetland for the majority of next week........I wish.