Preparing for extreme heatwaves.

[adam2]

Although THIS heatwave appears to be over, it is worth reviewing preps for future events.

Extreme heat is a greater risk in the south east, and greater still in urban heat islands.
Most members of these forums are hopefully already equipped with reserves of food and water.
Remember though that you will need to drink at least twice as much water as in more temperate conditions.
Tap water is fine IF AVAILABLE but do keep a stock of bottled water as well in case mains water is not available.
I favour carbonated water in glass bottles for reserve drinking water, glass wont taint the water, and the internal pressure if still present when the bottle is opened, provides reassurance that it was still sealed.

Food intake can be slightly reduced unless already below a healthy weight.
Remember that cold food is often preferable to avoid heat from cooking.

A good quality, full sized, battery operated fan is a prudent prep. These don't seem very readily available in the UK. Do not forget batteries for at least 100 hours operation.
Preferably get one that can use disposable cells or an external 12 volt battery, a vehicle battery will serve in an emergency.

[emordnilap]

On BBC Radio 4 yesterday they were talking of temperatures of up to 35°/36°C next week.

[adam2]

On BBC Radio 4 yesterday they were talking of temperatures of up to 35°/36°C next week.

Indeed, and whilst it might not get quite that hot, 33 degrees is expected in London, and an official heatwave warning has been issued for parts of the South East.

[Potemkin Villager]

On BBC Radio 4 yesterday they were talking of temperatures of up to 35°/36°C next week.

Indeed, and whilst it might not get quite that hot, 33 degrees is expected in London, and an official heatwave warning has been issued for parts of the South East.

Yes not a great time to visit the big smoke where the effect of the heat is exacerbated by poor air quality. I have photo somewhere, taken from the upper deck of a bus at Archway, of the cloud of ughh hanging over the city and west end during the summer of 1976.

Anybody planning to compete in the Olympic Games in Tokyo may be wondering at the wisdom of such a move.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... 0-olympics

[Mark]

Anybody planning to compete in the Olympic Games in Tokyo may be wondering at the wisdom of such a move.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... 0-olympics

Pele says that Qatar heat is 'no problem' for 2022 World Cup
https://www.arabianbusiness.com/qatar-h ... 12763.html

[adam2]

The day is coming when outdoor sporting and athletics competitions will have to be held only in cooler countries.

It is of course possible to air condition a football stadium, but the energy consumption and capital costs would be enormous.

Events involving running or cycling on public roads ideally need cold but not frosty conditions.

[adam2]

Milk yields have increased, as has the milk price.

I am a bit surprised at that. Even with excellent feed and copious amounts water available dairy cows will tend to take it easy during the heat of the summer. Excellent herd management if they have just maintained spring production levels, much more if they have achieved an increase.

Excellent herd management of course

None of the milk is sold for drinking, it is all processed into cream cheese, so a high butter fat content is more important than yield in litres.
The butter fat content determines the price.

In summer, a very little prepared cattle feed is fed to supplement grazing on grass.
In winter, cattle feed and field beans are fed and some silage.

My friends are the first farmers to keep cows on this land in living memory. Historically it has been used for sheep farming.
Arable farming was tried in the last war, with disappointing results. My friends grow some crops, but mainly for their own table, and for winter animal feed, not for sale.

[vtsnowedin]

Milk yields have increased, as has the milk price.

I am a bit surprised at that. Even with excellent feed and copious amounts water available dairy cows will tend to take it easy during the heat of the summer. Excellent herd management if they have just maintained spring production levels, much more if they have achieved an increase.

Excellent herd management of course

None of the milk is sold for drinking, it is all processed into cream cheese, so a high butter fat content is more important than yield in litres.
The butter fat content determines the price.

In summer, a very little prepared cattle feed is fed to supplement grazing on grass.
In winter, cattle feed and field beans are fed and some silage.

My friends are the first farmers to keep cows on this land in living memory. Historically it has been used for sheep farming.
Arable farming was tried in the last war, with disappointing results. My friends grow some crops, but mainly for their own table, and for winter animal feed, not for sale.

Back in my high school days (69 -73) in the Ag class we learned how to test milk for butter fat content. As I remember parts of it now it involved a weak acid and a centrifuge. My farther at one time (before my birth) had a herd of Jerseys that tested six percent.

[adam2]

With summer now here, and with a significant chance that new records will be set for high temperatures, I thought it time to revive this thread on preps for heat waves.

An important prep for extreme heat is a full sized decent quality battery operated fan.
Preferably one that works from an external 12 volt battery and that can also use alkaline D cells.

These do not seem to be readily available in the UK.

Various alternatives are available.

1) 12 or 24 volt vehicle fans, sold everywhere including fleabay. Cheap but can be noisy and power hungry.
I have used a 24 volt version from a 12 volt circuit which greatly reduced the noise and the power consumption and still gave an impressive air flow.
For portable use, these need fixing to a piece of wood.

For dry battery operation, fit a 12 volt vehicle fan to a piece of wood along with two battery holders each for 3 D cells.
6 dry cells will average about 7 or 8 volts under load and run the fan at a reduced but acceptable speed.
Run time up to a few dozen hours.

A 24 volt vehicle fan may be connected directly to a PV module intended for 12 volt battery charging. Results are rather variable.

2) Use a standard 240 volt desk fan from an inverter connected to a suitable battery. Cheap and simple but neither cheap fans nor cheap inverters are very reliable. Duplication of fan and inverter advisable.
Cant realistically use dry cells.

3) Numerous vendors offer very cheap hand held fans or desk fans that operate from small batteries or via a USB connection, or a minute built in PV module. These are seldom effective and are little more than novelties, avoid.

If any established member can recommend a UK supplier of a full sized 12 volt desk fan, do post a link.

Especially in an urban heat island, a severe heat wave could BE FATAL it would therefore be prudent to make certain that you have a decent battery fan.
Whilst a fan wont normally reduce the actual temperature, it will greatly reduce the risk of heat stress and possible serious illness.
Note that a fan cools the human body by promoting evaporation of sweat, and that this evaporation must be replaced by drinking a great deal of water.

In cool conditions a person can survive on one liter of water a day, but at least twice that is needed in normal warm weather, and a lot more in extreme heat.
Tap water is cheap and green. Keep a reserve of bottled water in case tap water is not available.

[kenneal - lagger]

We don't need a fan because our windows are shaded during the summer and so we get very little solar heating into the house. We open the windows during the evening to let cooler air in and to keep the structure cool. During the day we keep windows and doors closed to keep the heat out and we bask in the cool air provided by the structure of the house. With cool shade we have a comfortable 22 to 24 inside while it is 34 deg C outside. It may be counter intuitive to keep everything closed up on a hot day but if you can keep the sun out you will be much more comfortable if you cool the structure at night. If the air temperature is higher outside than inside keep that heat out of the house as much as you can.

If you have south and especially west facing windows fix shading over the outside to keep the sun out. West facing windows are especially important to treat because the sun is lower during the afternoon but equally as powerful as mid day and it shines into west facing windows to a far greater extent than south facing windows heating everything the light touches.

[woodburner]

Higher speed electric fans are power hungry, for not much benefit. Slow speed fans need less power and can provide reasonable comfort.
These are cheap, use no external power, and are virtually silent.

[adam2]

Lower speed electric fans are indeed often more efficient, hence my suggestions above to use a 24 volt vehicle fan from a 12 volt system, or a similar 12 volt fan from 6 dry cells, or to connect a 24 volt fan direct to a PV module intended for charging a 12 volt battery.

I consider a paper fan to be a poor substitute.

[vtsnowedin]

I fail to see the need of fussing with batteries. A mains powered variable speed window fan moves a lot of air at reasonable cost. If you have windows that can be opened at the top one fan blowing out from a top floor bedroom window can evacuate a lot of stale heated air that is otherwise trapped near your ceilings. If your building is configured well an additional fan blowing air in from the coolest side of the house at the ground floor or basement level will give you several complete air changes a day that are quietly circulating through the living space, bottom to top, and out.

[woodburner]

If the inside temperature is say 70ºF and the outside air is 80ºF, then blowing air in from the coolest side will still heat it up. Incidentally, how do you define stale air? Why should it get stale unless the building is sealed up with draught-proof everything?

A paper fan is a very good substitute when you are struggling t get enough power

[ReserveGrowthRulz]

Anything wrong with a swamp cooler? The humidity on an island isn't conducive to what the low humidity US SW can use?