3 ms·

Not sure about more desert conditions, or office buildings, but I do know that houses used to be built a lot differently before air conditioning. For example,

Not sure about more desert conditions, or office buildings, but I do know that houses used to be built a lot differently before air conditioning. For example, my parents' house was built just after 1900, and they only put in central air in the last decade (so I grew up without air conditioning). Even now, they rarely turn it on, and it is quite comfortable inside Lots of trees around, smaller windows, covered porch, air flow from the basement, etc. Compare this to the house I bought built in 1998, it is unlivable without the air turned on. And even with it running it is still uncomfortable when the temps get into the mid 90s. It has huge windows, but even with the curtains closed it was horrible -- there was just no natural airflow in it. One of my favorite houses was one that a relative had in Mississippi, which was one roof with three separate living areas and a T-shaped breezeway running through the house. Another design item was apartments with sun rooms, where you could open various windows to always catch a cross breeze.

EADGBE 8y ago
This. - Leaky ("breathable") home constructions vs. air-tight tolerances required to code now. - Region-specific cooling and design practices which aided in the dead of the summer (or winter!) - More geographically-minded decisions: Mature, treed lots for shade (double points for deciduous trees in winter which let the sun radiate through), more E/W facing vs N/S. - Architecture: Smaller, closed off rooms (shut the door to trap the heat/cold), breezeways, enclosed porches all seemed a lot more popular then vs. now when keeping cool (or warm, in the rooms' case) was a priority. Of course, mileage will vary, but this is something interesting I've found comparing the house I grew up in (built 1952), my first home (1986), and our recent build (2018) which are all within <5 miles of each other. FWIW, if the HVAC doesn't run all day at the new home, it's a noticeable "stagnant air" when you get home.

EADGBE 8y ago

This. - Leaky ("breathable") home constructions vs. air-tight tolerances required to code now. - Region-specific cooling and design practices which aided in the dead of the summer (or winter!) - More geographically-minded decisions: Mature, treed lots for shade (double points for deciduous trees in winter which let the sun radiate through), more E/W facing vs N/S. - Architecture: Smaller, closed off rooms (shut the door to trap the heat/cold), breezeways, enclosed porches all seemed a lot more popular then vs. now when keeping cool (or warm, in the rooms' case) was a priority. Of course, mileage will vary, but this is something interesting I've found comparing the house I grew up in (built 1952), my first home (1986), and our recent build (2018) which are all within <5 miles of each other. FWIW, if the HVAC doesn't run all day at the new home, it's a noticeable "stagnant air" when you get home.