For years, many care buildings have been managed mainly around winter performance. The priority has been to keep residents warm, reduce heat loss and control energy costs during colder months. That still matters, but hotter summers are changing the building challenge for care operators. A care home now needs to perform in both directions. It needs to stay warm in winter, but it also needs to stay safe, comfortable and manageable during periods of extreme heat. That is not always easy. Many care homes were built, converted or refurbished for a climate where overheating was less of a concern. Some buildings retain heat well but struggle to release it. Some upper-floor bedrooms become uncomfortable late into the evening. Some lounges, dining rooms and corridors absorb too much solar gain during the day. Some homes rely on temporary fixes because the building itself has not been assessed properly. For care home owners, estates teams and operators, the question is no longer whether heatwaves are unusual. The question is whether the building helps staff keep residents safe, or whether it adds pressure when temperatures rise.

Hot weather affects everyone, but the risks are greater in care settings. Many residents are older, frail, less mobile or living with long-term health conditions. Some may be living with dementia and may not recognise, explain or respond to heat discomfort in the same way as others. Some residents may not be able to move independently to a cooler part of the building. Others may be taking medication or receiving care that makes hydration, temperature regulation or mobility more difficult. UKHSA guidance for social care managers says hot weather can affect the health and wellbeing of people receiving care, and that social care managers have an important role in preparing staff and reducing risks before and during hot weather. The built environment cannot remove every heatwave risk, but it can reduce or increase the pressure on residents and staff. A hot building can affect sleep, hydration, appetite, comfort, mood, mobility and daily routines. It can also make care work harder. Staff may need to increase welfare checks, move residents to cooler areas, support hydration more frequently, adjust activities and manage family concerns. If the building is already difficult to ventilate, shade or cool, the operational burden rises quickly.

Care teams are central during hot weather, but overheating is not only a care-plan problem. It is also an estates problem. Room orientation, glazing, insulation, ventilation, lighting, roof spaces, window restrictors, shading, plant rooms, laundry areas, kitchen equipment, outdoor access and internal layouts all affect how a care home performs in hot weather. Research into London care homes has identified summertime overheating in care settings as a key risk and research priority for the health and social care system. A later study on care-home retrofit interventions found that overheating measures must be building-specific, and that passive-first approaches remain important — but that cooling benefits need to be balanced against winter energy and carbon impacts. That point matters. The wrong upgrade can solve one problem and create another. A measure that helps in July may increase heating demand in January. A cooling unit may help one room but leave the rest of the building unchanged. Extra insulation may improve winter comfort but worsen summer heat retention if ventilation and solar gain are not dealt with properly. Care homes need a joined-up view of cooling, heating, ventilation and energy use.

The first step is not to buy more equipment.

The first step is to understand how the building behaves.

In most care homes, overheating is caused by a combination of solar gain, poor heat rejection, internal heat sources and weak ventilation. BRE guidance on overheating identifies insulation, shading and ventilation as possible preventive measures, and notes that causes can be divided into sources of heat — such as solar gain through the building fabric — and the building's ability to reject heat, such as the ability to open windows safely.

These questions help operators decide whether the main issue is solar gain, poor ventilation, inefficient lighting, internal equipment, roof heat, weak controls or a combination of factors.

Some actions can be taken quickly during a heatwave.

Care homes can monitor room temperatures, close curtains or blinds on sun-facing windows, reduce unnecessary lighting and equipment use, ventilate when outdoor air is cooler, move activities to cooler areas and identify rooms that are easier to keep comfortable.

UKHSA's Heat‒Health Alert action card for health and social care providers advises fixed sites to keep certain rooms or areas below 26°C, giving people a place to cool down. It also advises checking thermometers are installed and working where vulnerable people spend substantial time, with staff knowing how to check and record temperatures.

That gives estates and care teams a practical starting point. A cool room should not just be cooler in theory. It needs to be usable.

A suitable cool room should have safe access, suitable seating, good supervision, appropriate lighting, safe flooring, infection-control considerations, hydration support and enough space for residents who may need mobility aids. If the room is difficult to reach, hard to supervise or unsuitable for the residents who need it most, it will not work properly.

Shading is often one of the most practical ways to reduce overheating.

The aim is simple: stop heat entering the building before staff have to deal with it inside.

Internal blinds and curtains can help, but external shading is often more effective because it blocks more solar gain before it passes through the glass. Depending on the building, practical measures may include canopies, awnings, shutters, brise soleil, pergolas, planting, solar-control film or improved window treatments.

For a care home, shading needs to be effective without creating new problems. It must not block safe access, compromise fire routes, create trip hazards, remove important visibility or make rooms feel dark and institutional.

Good shading can make bedrooms, lounges, dining rooms, garden rooms and corridors more usable during hot weather. It can also improve the way a home feels to visiting families. A building that feels calm, comfortable and well managed during summer sends a very different message from one where rooms feel hot, stuffy and difficult to use.

Ventilation is essential, but care homes cannot manage it casually.

Opening windows during the hottest part of the day can make indoor conditions worse if the air outside is warmer than the air inside. Ventilation is often more useful overnight, early in the morning or later in the evening, when external temperatures have dropped.

The challenge is that care homes must balance ventilation with safeguarding, falls risk, security, infection control, fire safety, resident behaviour and staffing.

That means the practical details matter. Window restrictors, secure openings, cross-ventilation routes, extract systems, passive ventilation measures and mechanical ventilation may all need reviewing.

Some homes may only need small changes to improve airflow. Others may have deeper issues caused by layout, window design, upper-floor heat, extensions, blocked ventilation paths or poorly performing systems.

The goal is not simply to open more windows. The goal is safe, controlled ventilation that helps the building release heat without creating new risks.

Heat does not only come from the weather.

Lighting, kitchens, laundry rooms, electrical equipment, plant spaces, poorly controlled systems and appliances left running can all add heat inside a care home.

During a heatwave, these sources matter. They may not be the main cause of overheating, but they can make warm spaces harder to manage.

LED lighting upgrades can help because they use less energy and produce less waste heat than older lighting systems. Better controls can also reduce unnecessary lighting in corridors, storage rooms, staff areas and other spaces that do not need constant use.

Equipment use should also be reviewed. Where practical and safe, non-essential appliances and equipment should be switched off rather than left running. This can reduce internal heat gains, cut energy waste and make the building easier to manage during high-temperature periods.

Insulation is usually discussed as a winter improvement, but it also affects summer performance.

A well-insulated building can reduce heat gain through the roof and fabric, but insulation can also contribute to heat retention if solar gain and ventilation are not addressed. That is why insulation, shading and ventilation need to be reviewed together.

A care home should not treat energy efficiency and overheating as separate issues.

A useful appraisal should consider the building fabric, glazing, heating systems, lighting, ventilation, shading, controls, roof spaces and resident use patterns together. That gives operators a better view of what the building needs across the year, not just during one season.

This is especially important for older or converted care homes, where layouts may be less efficient and systems may have been changed gradually over time. A planned preventative maintenance programme that looks across all building systems - not just in response to problems - is the most effective way to stay ahead of issues like seasonal overheating before they create operational pressure.

Air conditioning may be necessary in some care settings, especially where residents are particularly vulnerable or where certain rooms consistently overheat.

However, cooling should be planned carefully.

Whole-building cooling may be expensive, disruptive and unnecessary in some homes. A targeted approach may be more practical — reliable cooling in a managed cool room, treatment room, lounge, dining area, staff base or specific bedrooms, while using passive measures elsewhere.

Recent care-home retrofit research supports the idea that zonal cooling can reduce energy use and target high-risk rooms more effectively than a whole-building approach.

This is where proper assessment matters. Some rooms may need mechanical cooling. Others may benefit more from external shading, better ventilation, LED lighting, solar-control film or improved controls.

The right solution depends on the building, the resident profile and the way the home operates every day.

Outdoor space is important in care settings, but it needs to be usable during warmer weather.

A garden, courtyard or terrace may look attractive but offer limited value if there is no shade, poor access, uneven surfacing or nowhere comfortable to sit.

External works and access improvements can include shaded seating, canopies, pergolas, planting, accessible paths, ramps, handrails and clearer routes from the building.

For residents living with dementia, external spaces should also feel calm, familiar and easy to navigate. Shaded destination points, safe walking loops, clear visual cues and comfortable seating can make outdoor areas more useful without adding unnecessary complexity.

This matters to residents, staff and families. A care home that offers safe, shaded, accessible outdoor space gives people more options during warmer months.

Care home overheating is mainly a resident-safety and wellbeing issue, but it also has commercial consequences.

Families notice how a home feels. Staff notice whether the building helps or hinders them. Operators notice the cost of running temporary cooling equipment. Estates teams notice repeated complaints, difficult rooms, poor ventilation and areas that become unusable during hot weather.

A building that performs better in summer and winter is easier to manage. It can support comfort, reduce wasted energy, improve first impressions and make the home feel more resilient.

This does not mean every care home needs a major refurbishment. Some homes may need a focused programme of practical changes. Others may need a deeper review of ventilation, shading, glazing, insulation, lighting, controls and layout.

The important point is to avoid spending money on isolated fixes before the building has been properly assessed.

A practical overheating and energy review should look at the building, the residents and the way the home operates.

This gives operators a clearer view of what can be done immediately, what should be planned before the next summer and what belongs in a wider capital programme.

LUMY specialises in well-managed refurbishment and construction projects for care homes, supported living facilities and private hospitals.

That work can include communal areas, bedrooms, bathrooms, staff spaces, access improvements, external works, LED lighting and electrical works, fire safety works, dementia-friendly environments, ventilation-related improvements and energy-efficiency upgrades.

LUMY's role is to help care providers make practical improvements that support residents, staff and long-term building performance. That means looking beyond short-term fixes and understanding where the building is under pressure.

For overheating and energy efficiency, the priority is to identify the improvements that are likely to make the biggest difference, then plan and phase the work safely around residents, staff and daily care.

A good refurbishment partner should not simply price the work. They should help the operator understand the practical implications of the scheme, coordinate the trades, control disruption and deliver the standard promised.

Before investing in cooling equipment or wider refurbishment works, care home operators should ask:

If the answers are unclear, the first step is not to buy more equipment. The first step is to understand how the building is performing.

Heatwaves are now part of the building-performance challenge for care homes. The homes that cope best will usually be the ones that understand their buildings, identify the rooms most at risk, reduce heat gain, improve ventilation safely and plan cooling alongside energy efficiency. For operators, this is not just about comfort. It is about resident safety, staff pressure, family confidence, operating cost and long-term estate resilience. Lumy can help care providers assess practical improvements that reduce overheating, improve energy efficiency and support safer, more comfortable care environments. Book a care home overheating and energy review.