4 Cooling Methods Before the Invention of Air Conditioning
Long before advances in technology meant that you could retreat inside to your air conditioned home to stay cool, people had to be a little more creative when it came to beating the heat. Although it is far easier and far more comfortable to let a quality air conditioning unit cool you down, some popular alternatives were effective, back in the day.
1. Wraparound Porches
Those wide, lovely wraparound porches you see on older homes just invite you to relax and take in the summer breeze. That’s in part because it is exactly what people used to use them for on a hot summer’s day.
Those porches provide shelter and are also excellent conduits to catch and distribute the breeze. People would gather in the early evening on their porches, after the heat of the day had begun to fade. It became a big social event as well, and neighbors would circulate from porch to porch.
During scorching nights in the summer, it wasn’t uncommon for people to sleep outside on those generously sized porches.
2. Stone Walls for Insulation
Stone walls operate based on the principle of thermal mass, where a material (in this case stone) retains heat energy. Because stone is so dense, it takes an awful lot of heat energy in order to physically change the temperature.
To break that down, it means that it’s more difficult for the hot air to move through to inside the house. The walls (and by association the rooms inside) are slow to heat, meaning cooler indoor temps. This type of insulation is particularly effective in climates (or seasons) where it cools at night, meaning that the stone will remain cool even longer.
3. Higher Ceilings
As you likely already know, heat rises. That means that high ceilings create a natural “trap” for the hot air to travel. Typically, windows would be placed near the height of the ceiling, meaning that the hot air could escape. This creates a natural airflow and enhances ventilation in a hot space.
4. Cross-Ventilation
Keeping cool is ultimately about the ability to move air, which increases when you can introduce cross-ventilation. An architectural example of this cooling concept is the Shotgun house.
Popular in the south, the long, narrow shotgun house is built with one room behind the other, without hallways. The theory is that you could stand at the front door and fire a shotgun and that the bullet would travel straight through and exit at the back of the house.
The cooling benefit of this type of home is the combination of high ceilings in proximity to numerous windows, which meant prime air circulation.
As long as there have been homes, there have been people seeking comfort from the outdoor elements. Whether you need help with your heating or cooling, Skovron Mechanical Services LLC. in Manchester, NH is here to help! Call (603)-922-4037 for an appointment today.
