How Canopies Can Help Keep You Cool During a Heatwave

Resources
Blog
How Canopies Can Help Keep You Cool During a Heatwave

As heatwaves become more frequent across the UK, schools, businesses, healthcare facilities, and public spaces are increasingly looking for ways to keep outdoor environments comfortable and usable during periods of extreme heat. While staying indoors may seem like the obvious solution, many organisations rely on their outdoor spaces for learning, dining, socialising, waiting areas, and recreation.

One of the most effective ways to create cooler, more comfortable outdoor environments is through the installation of a canopy. By providing shade and reducing direct sun exposure, canopies can significantly improve comfort levels while helping people continue to enjoy outdoor spaces, even during the hottest days of the year.

Why Do Outdoor Areas Become So Hot?

When sunlight directly hits surfaces such as tarmac, concrete, paving slabs, and building walls, these materials absorb heat and can become extremely hot. This heat is then radiated back into the surrounding area, increasing temperatures and making outdoor spaces uncomfortable.

In addition to higher air temperatures, prolonged exposure to direct sunlight can increase the risk of sunburn, dehydration, heat exhaustion, and fatigue.

Creating shaded areas can help minimise these effects and make outdoor spaces more pleasant and safer to use.

How Canopies Create Cooler Outdoor Spaces

Canopies work by blocking direct sunlight from reaching the ground and the people beneath them, by reducing solar radiation, a canopy can create a noticeably cooler environment underneath compared to surrounding exposed areas. The difference is often immediately noticeable on hot summer days, particularly when compared to unshaded surfaces that have been exposed to the sun for several hours.

Many canopy systems also utilise roofing materials that help diffuse sunlight while maintaining natural daylight, creating bright and welcoming spaces without excessive heat build-up.

Protecting Against Harmful UV Rays

A key benefit of many modern canopy systems is their ability to filter harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. For example, polycarbonate roofing systems commonly used within school and commercial canopies can block over 98% of harmful UV rays. This helps create safer outdoor environments for pupils, staff, visitors, customers, and members of the public while still allowing natural light to pass through.

This additional protection is particularly valuable during heatwaves when UV levels are often at their highest.

Keeping Classrooms and Buildings Cooler

Another one of the benefits of a canopy is that they are not limited to the area directly beneath the structure; wall mounted canopies installed outside classrooms, offices, healthcare facilities, and other buildings can help reduce solar gain by limiting the amount of direct sunlight reaching windows and external walls.

By reducing heat entering the building, indoor temperatures can often remain more comfortable during hot weather. This can help create better learning and working environments while reducing reliance on fans and air conditioning systems.

Supporting Outdoor Learning and Wellbeing

Research continues to highlight the benefits of spending time outdoors. Outdoor learning can improve engagement, concentration, physical activity, and overall wellbeing, while outdoor break areas provide valuable opportunities for social interaction and relaxation. However, during a heatwave, unshaded outdoor areas can become uncomfortable and underused.

By creating shaded spaces, schools and organisations can continue to make use of their outdoor environments even during periods of extreme weather. Whether used for outdoor classrooms, dining areas, playgrounds, waiting areas, or staff breakout spaces, canopies help maximise the usability of outdoor facilities throughout the year.

Providing Long-Term Climate Resilience

As temperatures continue to rise and heatwaves become more common, organisations are increasingly considering how their outdoor environments can adapt to changing weather patterns.

Canopies provide a practical long-term solution by delivering protection from both heat and rain, ensuring outdoor spaces remain functional regardless of the season. This makes them a valuable investment for schools, colleges, universities, healthcare facilities, commercial premises, and public spaces alike.

Conclusion

Heatwaves can make outdoor areas uncomfortable and, in some cases, unsafe to use for extended periods. However, with the right shelter solution in place, all sectors can continue to enjoy the benefits of their outdoor spaces while providing protection from excessive heat and harmful UV rays.

By creating shaded environments, reducing solar gain, and improving overall comfort, canopies play an important role in helping schools, businesses, and public sector organisations stay cool during a heatwave. As the UK’s climate continues to evolve, investing in high-quality shade and shelter solutions can help future-proof outdoor spaces for years to come.

Able Canopies Ltd. design, manufacture and install canopies and shade structures at schools, nurseries and educational settings to enable year-round Free Flow Outdoor Play and Outdoor Learning.
For more information please contact us

Follow us on our social media accounts for the latest funding advice, new products & latest news:
Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram

Back to Blog