Rethinking Lifestyle

With summer finally arriving, bringing hot humid weather it can be tempting to reach for the air conditioning controls if you have them and blasting the air cool.

But is there another way to stay cool?

How did we manage before air conditioning?

Well, if you look at older homes, there’s a few design features that help…

Here in Manitoba, we crave the winter sun, anything to feel warmer! So if your house faces south, chances are you have big windows to capture those winter rays. And this tactic can raise the indoor temperature by a couple of degrees during the day, so it’s worth it. But of course in the summer we don’t want the heat, especially not when the sun is in the south. In older houses, you see a decent roof overhang. The roof extends out far enough to shade the windows from the sun, which is higher in the sky in summer than in the winter – simple and effective. Few new homes are built with roofs like this these days – probably because they tend to built with air conditioning.

Anything you can do to stop the house gaining heat from outside – closing windows in the morning, and drawing curtains and blinds, will make a significant difference. Then you have to make the most of the cooler temperatures to cool the house down. This can be achieved when the temperature drops in the evening, opening those windows and creating a through flow of air from downstairs to upstairs. Of course you can increase the air flow using a fan, but that begs the question – how many fans does it take to equal putting the air conditioning on for a short while?

If you have a basement, you’ll notice this becomes the coldest part – cool air sinks. In times past, some people used to move into their basement for the summer months to take advantage of this. In our older, non-air conditioned house, the basement is a pleasant refuge on the hottest days.

But anyway, who wants to be indoors during the sunny weather anyway!

I find often find that if I can find a shady spot outside where a breeze passes through, this feels cooler than sitting inside where the air doesn’t move even if the temperature is more or less the same. On a hot evening like today, my spot of choice was my front deck where I sat podding peas from the garden and watching the world go by.

I’ve got a nice shady spot for the hammock too – in the trees planted in front of the house to help cool it. Perfect for reading, dreaming about next year’s garden or sipping a refreshing iced mint tea…

In Mediterranean Europe, where summers are hot and humid, the siesta is traditional. They get up early and work, take a long restful lunchtime somewhere shady usually with family or friends, and then work again when it’s cooler. Wonder what my boss would think of that idea.