Ireland is braced for a warm weekend with warnings that it is only going to get hotter.
The mercury is set to reach 26C in parts today, before a Status Yellow 'high temperature warning' kicks in on Sunday.
Met Eireann say: "On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday exceptionally warm weather will occur over Ireland with daytime temperatures of 25C to 30C generally and possibly up to 32C in places on Monday. Night time temperatures will range from 15C to 20C."
READ MORE: Ireland weather: Met Eireann map shows county most at threat as temperatures forecast to soar today
As the weather heats up, many people across Ireland will be looking for tips to keep cool - and as cheaply as possible amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.
While fans and aircon do work, they are increasingly expensive to run thanks to the soaring energy bills and can bring with them potential health problems, according to experts.
Irish homes are largely built to trap and keep heat in, thanks to our usually moderate climate, which certainly doesn't help when a 'mini-heatwave' occurs.
But there is one little known trick to keeping your house cool which needs only a cheap roll of tin foil or kitchen foil - such as that sold in Dunnes Stores, Tesco, SuperValu, Lidl, Aldi and more.
Both SuperValu and Tesco are currently selling tin foil for just €1 on their online stores.
People desperately trying to keep cool have urged others to roll out kitchen foil and spread it in your windows, especially any windows that gets direct sunlight, North Wales Live reports.
Normally, when direct sunlight shines through a window, it magnifies the heat of the sun and makes your house even warmer - this is how greenhouses work to keep plants warm inside.
But foil works by reflecting the sun off the window and sending it back outside instead. Other options include keeping your window open but your curtains drawn, blocking direct sunlight from entering. However, this will still warm your room slightly through the curtains, whereas foil reflects the sun more.
You may remember that foil reflecting heat works in winter too, after people were advised to hang strips of tin foil behind radiators to help them reflect their heat into the room.
Is hanging tin foil in windows in a heatwave safe?
The other advantages of tin foil or 'aluminium foil' are that it's non toxic and it doesn't melt until it hits 660C, so even in Ireland's 'mini-heatwave', it's going to manage perfectly fine with hundreds of degrees to spare and you don't have to worry about foil melting in the sun.
Ways to keep your house cool in a heatwave
Other tips to keep a house cool in a heatwave include:
Opening windows and doors, and keeping doors open to allow air to circulate through the house.
You can also place bowls of water through the house in different rooms that will evaporate into the air to help keep the air temperature cool.
House plants also keep a home cooler. They act as natural air conditioners, regulating the temperature of a room by generating moisture in to the air in a process called transpiration.
You can also turn off appliances that aren't being used. Every appliance, such as an oven, toaster, laptop or a PlayStation, could generate small amounts of heat on standby that all contribute to the general heat level of a house.
The same goes when charging items like your phone, the small amount of heat generated could help warm a room slightly so it's best to charge at night.
Energy saving LED lightbulbs also will help cool your house. Regular lightbulbs such as Halogen produce an enormous amount of heat as they light a room and several Halogen lights or spotlights can warm a room up quickly at night. Try swapping to energy saving LEDs and keep lights off as much as possible - which will also save you money.
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