Calculators · Consulting

Overheating quick-check

Part O & CIBSE TM59 · screening

A fast read on a room’s overheating risk using the drivers Part O and TM59 actually weigh, glazing, orientation, shading and ventilation, so you catch the problem rooms while the design can still change cheaply.

Screen  the cheap check before dynamic simulation
Part O  aligned with the simplified-method drivers
→ DSM  flags the rooms that need full modelling

The room

The worst-case habitable room is the one to test.

Floor area
Glazing area
Main glazing orientation
Solar shading
Ventilation strategy
Openable area % of floor area
Secure night-time purge ventilation available
Overheating risk · screen
Low
Glazing ratio 25% of floor
No dynamic simulation indicated at this stage
Get the DSM done

A screening heuristic, not a compliance check. Part O compliance and TM59’s criteria are decided by dynamic thermal simulation against real weather data, which this does not run.

What it weighs
  • Glazing ratio, glazing as a share of floor area. The single biggest driver of solar gain.
  • Orientation, west and large unshaded south glazing carry the most afternoon gain.
  • Shading, external shading cuts gain before it enters; internal blinds help less.
  • Ventilation, cross-ventilation and secure night purge remove heat; single-sided struggles.
  • Openable area, Part O sets a minimum free area for purge.

Why trust it: it mirrors the drivers in Part O’s simplified method and CIBSE TM59. When it flags risk we run the full dynamic model; every assessment is reviewed by one of our 7 accredited Passivhaus certifiers.

Take it further

Flagged a risk? Model it before it’s built.

We run dynamic simulation (IES/DSM) against TM59 and Part O, so you fix overheating on screen, not with retrofit blinds after handover. Send us the rooms that scored amber or red.

Lands in your dashboard and syncs to Mailchimp, tagged "overheating".

Email me this result A copy in your inbox, no account.