‘My house feels like the Sahara Desert’: Britons living in new builds report ‘extreme’ temperatures as heatwave continues to scorch the UK

The UK experienced its hottest June day for the third year in a row today; with a temperature of almost 37 degrees, but those living in new buildings claimed that they felt the heat even more.

New-build properties continue to emerge in the UK, attracting interest from potential buyers looking to secure chain-free, low-maintenance living.

However, according to the British who purchased it, this product also has a disadvantage: Feeling like you are in the ‘Sahara Desert’ in the summer months.

Unlike older homes, new buildings tend to be highly energy efficient; this means heavy insulation, shadeless windows to maximize natural light, airtight construction and therefore ‘boiling’ temperatures in a heatwave.

Social media users took to TikTok to complain about living conditions. Rosie MantalbanoHe compares his home to the world’s largest hot desert.

Taking to TikTok while sitting on a bikini sofa, Rosie said: ‘Can we talk about why new-build homes in the UK retain heat so well? It’s 32 degrees outside and my house feels like it’s sponsored by the Sahara Desert.

‘I’ve had the windows open since 7am this morning, I’ve had the curtains closed all day, nothing is working. The walls are literally hot to the touch.

‘Don’t even mention the night, my pillows are warm, my quilt is hot, my bed is boiling. I woke up this morning and felt moderately rare. It was terrible.

‘I think English houses, especially new buildings, are built for rainy and cold weather, not for this weather. ‘Someone send help.’

He’s not the only one. Abigail Jade Brown Comparing his home to ‘hell’, he said: ‘I’m trying to survive this heat wave in a new building. I’m in hell. I feel like the storm just made it hotter.’

Elsewhere, TikTok user @ourcastletonhome He noted that the temperature in their home was 29.5 degrees and wrote next to a clip of a thermometer: ‘POV: You’re living in a new build during the UK heatwave.’

Stan MilsomMeanwhile, he told his followers that he was considering installing air conditioning in his new building to make conditions bearable.

The TikTok user said: ‘If you’re thinking of buying a new build, be prepared for extreme heat.

‘I’m actually sweating. Normally, it is warmer inside this house than outside. It’s actually unbearable. ‘I used air conditioning for a living so I’m planning to put a unit in here soon.’

according to MirrorHouses in the UK were now ‘built for a climate that no longer exists’, the Committee on Climate Change said in May in a statement calling for nationwide air conditioning.

Dr D., senior lecturer in healthy buildings at Loughborough University. Ben Roberts told the Daily Mail: ‘We’ve traditionally been a pretty cold country, so we try to keep our homes warm in the winter.

Abigail Jade Brown (pictured) told her TikTok followers that her “home feels like it’s sponsored by the Sahara Desert”

Rose Montalbano (pictured) likened her new construction to the Sahara Desert and said night was the hottest time

‘We have only had construction regulations to keep our homes cool in the summer since 2022. So, we need to catch up a bit.’

This raises the question of whether blinds should be kept closed, windows open, and fans kept on. However, the answers may vary depending on the type of property you live in.

For example, upstairs apartments can get hotter as temperatures rise, while homes with larger windows can heat up quickly in direct sunlight and shaded areas can be much cooler.

But as a general rule, Dr. Roberts recommends that most people should always lower their curtains during the day.

He said: ‘If they are light coloured, or some sort of reflective metal, then it would be worth keeping your internal blinds or curtains closed during the day to prevent the sun’s heat from getting in, as this will reflect some of the heat back.’

The best approach for ventilation is to open windows on opposite sides of the house during the coolest parts of the day, usually overnight or in the early morning hours when temperatures are lowest.

Creating airflow through the home in this way allows cooler air to circulate more effectively than opening windows on only one side of the property.

Dr Roberts said: ‘When it is warmer outside than inside, opening your windows will only allow warm air in. The general advice is that during the peak hours of the day during heat waves, it will almost always be hotter outside than inside; so you should keep your windows closed then.

‘As it will be cooler outside than inside at night, you should open your windows if it is safe to do so.

‘Obviously for many people, especially if they live in ground floor flats or noisy, dirty areas, there are a variety of reasons why people don’t want to open their windows. But general advice is to open your windows at night and close them during heat waves during the day.’

If a home has only one window, a fan placed nearby can help move more of the cooler outside air into the room and improve flow throughout the property.

However, leaving the fan on during the day is not recommended by experts.

Dr Roberts says: ‘There’s no use running a fan if you’re not at home because all a fan does is move air; It does not change the temperature of the air.

‘Unless you’re there to pick up the air movement, feel the air movement on your skin, and provide additional sweat evaporation created by the fan, it doesn’t do anything.’

The Met Office said the temperature at Wattisham in Suffolk was recorded at 36.9 degrees; A day after a new June record of 36.7 degrees was set in Merryfield, Somerset, yesterday.

This follows a new record of 36.1C in Gosport, Hampshire, on Wednesday; It surpassed the June high of 35.6C, which itself dates back to the summer of 1976.

Today was England’s seventh hottest day ever, beating the record of 36.7 degrees set in Northamptonshire in 1911, the hottest day in the country for nearly 80 years.

Today also marks the record-breaking third consecutive day of red extreme heat warnings in the Southeast. A wider yellow warning was also in place for the East and Midlands.

London and Manchester could reach 36C today, while Belfast and Cardiff could reach 26C. This followed another ‘tropical night’ where temperatures did not drop below 20°C; The overnight high and low dropped to just 22.7°C at Herstmonceux in West Sussex.

The government’s UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) has extended amber temperature warnings for the whole of England until Sunday morning, warning of ‘an increase in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with underlying health conditions’.