Staying Cool Naturally: How Retrofit Design Can Help Homes Cope with Rising Temperatures
- MWD Architects
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 13 hours ago
As the UK undergoes the third heatwave of the year [1], overheating is becoming increasingly prevalent in many homes. Traditionally, houses were built to keep the heat in during the winter months but as the climates continues to experience warmer summers, keeping homes cool is becoming a growing priority.
At MWD Architects, we use thoughtful retrofit design strategies to help improve your homes year-round internal comfort and energy demand. One of the most effective ways to improve your homes thermal performance is by improving the levels of insulation. Additionally, making use of a number of different strategies, such as solar shading, high levels of airtightness, natural ventilation and high-performance glazing all help to create a more holistic solution to help improve your homes overall thermal comfort, energy efficiency and sustainability.
When it comes to selecting insulation there are many different options available, with homeowners increasingly choosing eco-friendlier and more sustainable options [2]. At MWD Architects, we often opt for insulations that are environmentally friendly and from renewable sources such as wood fibre, sheep’s wool, cork, hemp and cellulose.
Natural vs Synthetic Insulation
A commonly used synthetic insulation is polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation, often chosen due to its ability to achieve low U-Values and comes in a variety of sizes, helping to reduce the overall thickness of roofs, walls and floors.
Natural insulation, however, can offer a wider range of benefits when considering the long-term performance of your home.
Moisture regulation - Materials such as wood fibre, sheep’s wool, cork, hemp and cellulose are vapour-permeable which means they allow moisture to escape through the fabric of the building without affecting the performance of the insulation. This is an excellent choice, particularly in older properties, to help reduce risk of condensation, damp and mould.
Higher thermal mass – Natural insulations are typically thicker than synthetic insulations meaning they can absorb and store more heat and then gradually release it as external temperatures decrease. This helps to slow heat transfer during the summer and delay heat loss in the winter making your home more thermally efficient and reduces energy bills.
Healthier indoor environment – Some synthetic insulations can emit chemicals into the air known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) posing potentially health risks. Natural insulations, such as hemp, have been shown to help maintain a healthier indoor air quality [3] improving both occupant health and thermal comfort.
Sustainability – Typically, natural insulations are created from materials that can be renewably sourced such as trees, sheep’s wool and plants often offering a significantly lower embodied carbon footprint [4].
Why a whole house retrofit approach matters
While improving your homes insulation levels alone is a great step to take, a retrofit approach that forms part of a wider and holistic whole house retrofit strategy can achieve far greater results.
Overheating is caused by a number of factors in the building envelope that affect how your home regulations temperature including:
Low levels of insulation
Poor quality windows
Excessive solar gain
Poor airtightness
Insufficient ventilation
By considering these elements as a whole system, rather than individual symptoms, a whole house retrofit strategy can be designed to help your home achieve a better thermal performance that is comfortable throughout the year, cheaper to run and better adapted for a changing climate.
Whether you are planning an extension, looking to renovate a historic property or thinking of building a new home, MWD Architects can help you to create a home that stays cooler in summer, warmer in winter and is more comfortable all year round. We combine thoughtful design, a fabric-first approach and passive design strategies to provide a holistic analysis of the performance of your home, understanding it as a complete system.
MWD Case Study: Glandovan Barn Conversion
A great example of one of our retrofit design approaches is our Glandovan project, a Grade II Listed barn conversion where sustainability, building performance and heritage have been sensitivity balanced.
Thermal upgrades to the existing stone walls were a priority and hempcrete was chosen as a natural low-carbon material that helps to both regulate temperature and moisture within the building fabric. The existing barn has then been sensitively extended using a new prefabricated timber frame system extension which incorporates recycled newspaper insulation, enhancing both the occupant comfort and energy efficiency while respecting the heritage of the original building.
To further improve the overall building performance the retrofit design has focused on improving the airtightness with careful detailing around the windows and doors, natural cross ventilation and high-performance glazing to help limit unwanted solar gain.
The result is a whole house retrofit strategy helping to create a more resilient home that can handle both cold winters and increasingly hot summers whilst preserving the original character.
Thinking About Retrofitting Your Home?
If your home has issues with overheating, damp, condensation or simply isn't performing as efficiently as it should, a carefully designed whole house retrofit strategy could help.
At MWD Architects, we work with homeowners to develop a bespoke retrofit design that improves occupant comfort, reduces energy demand and future-proofs homes for a changing climate.
Contact our team to discuss your project and discover how a whole-house retrofit approach could transform your home.
Further reading and references
1. Met Office (2026): Third heatwave of year to bring prolonged spell of hot and dry weather - Met Office
3. Narayanan, V., Hashemi, A., Elsharkawy, H., Newport, D., & Basaly, L. (2024) https://doi.org/10.21625/essd.v9i2.1071
4. G. Grazieschi, F. Asdrubali, G. Thomas (2021) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cesys.2021.100032
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