Before air conditioning, people cooled buildings by combining shade, controlled openings, heat-storing materials, cooler ground, evaporation and daily routines. The successful combination depended on climate: a thick earthen wall that works in a hot-arid city can retain unwanted heat in a warm-humid one, while a courtyard can create shade and airflow or become a heat trap.
The most useful lesson for designers and building owners is not to copy a single feature. It is to match each measure to the local sun, wind, humidity, night-time temperatures, water supply, building fabric and conservation rules.
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How did people keep houses cool before air conditioning?
Traditional cooling was a coordinated system rather than a mechanical substitute. Builders reduced solar gain before it entered rooms, moved air when outdoor conditions allowed, stored heat in heavy materials, discharged that heat at night, and used evaporation or the relatively stable temperature of the earth where those options were available.
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Daily behavior completed the design. Occupants closed shutters during the hottest sun, opened rooms for night flushing, used shaded courtyards at appropriate times and moved between seasonal rooms. The same feature could help or hurt: open windows bring relief when outside air is cooler or moving, but can add heat and humidity during a hot afternoon.
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Four physical mechanisms
- Solar control: roof overhangs, shutters, awnings, arcades, trees, courtyard walls and orientation block direct radiation.
- Air movement: opposite openings, windcatchers and high exhaust paths remove heat and improve perceived comfort when wind or buoyancy is available.
- Thermal storage: thick adobe, brick or masonry slows heat transfer and can release stored heat during a cool night.
- Evaporation and earth coupling: water, plants, basements and partly underground rooms can lower temperatures in suitable dry or below-ground conditions.
Shade and solar control: stop heat before it enters
Direct sun through glass or onto a wall is often the first load a passive design should address. Exterior shutters and adjustable awnings block radiation at the opening, where they are more effective than an interior blind. They can be opened in winter or repositioned as the sun angle changes. Historic England’s 23 March 2026 report identifies awnings, shutters and other historic measures used in England and in British colonial architecture abroad. Its wording is specific: “This report identified different historic architectural measures used in England and in British colonial architecture abroad.”
Shade also comes from the building’s massing. An arcade or loggia protects a wall and gives people a cooler outdoor room. Courtyard walls shade paving and lower façades; trees shade both surfaces and occupants. Orientation determines when those elements work. In the Northern Hemisphere, a tall south-side courtyard wall can cast useful shade at parts of the day, but its exact effect changes with latitude, season, wall height and courtyard width.
For a historic façade, adding an awning is not automatically appropriate. Attachment points, moisture movement, visual significance, fire rules and local consent can all matter. Historic England treats adaptation as a building-specific decision involving risks and regulations, not as a universal specification.
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Courtyards: useful microclimates, not automatic air conditioners
A courtyard can shelter rooms from hot winds and create a shaded external space. Iranian houses commonly combined an enclosed court with pools, vegetation and rooms opening onto more than one side. Walls reduce exposure, while shaded surfaces and planting can moderate the small-scale environment around doors and windows.
A 2021 study of seven traditional houses in Yazd, Kashan and Esfahan calculated how much of each courtyard was shaded at different times. Across those houses, 34%–49% of courtyard area was shaded at 9 a.m., 8%–11% at noon and 13%–18% at 3 p.m. These are calculated proportions for those seven examples, not performance guarantees for every courtyard. The study links geometry and the tall south wall to the changing shade pattern. Its conclusion says that traditional Iranian strategies can create “a sustainable microclimate in residential environments with minimum access to electricity and gas.” Read the full case study in the Journal of Sustainability Research.
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Proportion matters. A narrow, deep court may remain shaded but receive little breeze; a broad court may ventilate better yet expose more paving to sun. Openings from several rooms, the height of surrounding walls, surface colour, vegetation, water and the timing of window operation all change the result.
Numerical work also shows why a courtyard should not be sold as a guaranteed comfort solution. Safarzadeh and Bahadori’s 2005 Tehran analysis found courtyard features reduced cooling requirements “to some extent,” but the accessible abstract does not report one overall energy-saving percentage and says comfort was not maintained during hot summer hours. A 2022 simulation of traditional courtyard houses in warm-humid Colima, Mexico, found that courtyard strategies could raise indoor temperatures in some naturally ventilated cases. The findings are reported in the Tehran study and the Colima study.
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Ventilation, windcatchers and night flushing
Cross ventilation needs a pressure difference and a clear path. Openings on opposite or adjacent sides let wind pass through occupied rooms; high-level outlets let buoyant warm air escape. A windcatcher, or wind tower, captures air above roof level and channels it down or exhausts it through another shaft. A solar chimney uses solar-heated air to strengthen the upward flow.
In the Iranian house study, five of the seven examples used stack cooling, and several included ventilation towers or solar chimneys. Night flushing was used to circulate cooler night air through the building and its fabric. This works only when the night is actually cooler than the building and openings can be secured against rain, dust, insects or security risks.
Air movement does not necessarily lower outdoor dry-bulb temperature. It can increase occupants’ convective and evaporative heat loss, making the same room feel cooler, while also carrying heat out of the structure when outside air is favourable. If outdoor air is hotter or more humid than indoor air, unrestricted ventilation can make conditions worse.
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Current engineering work continues to test these traditional devices. A 2024 study of UAE heritage architecture used computational-fluid-dynamics simulations and real-time temperature monitoring to compare buildings with windcatchers against buildings without them across seasons. Its abstract does not provide a single numerical performance result, so no universal percentage should be inferred. The study is available in the Ain Shams Engineering Journal.
Thermal mass: when thick walls help—and when they do not
Adobe, rammed earth, brick and masonry absorb heat slowly. During a hot day they delay the time at which heat reaches the interior, reducing peak indoor temperatures. In a hot-arid climate, a cool night can then remove that stored heat before the next day.
The seven Iranian vernacular examples describe adobe walls commonly 50–80 cm thick. That dimension belongs to those regional examples; it is not a rule for every historic wall or a retrofit thickness to apply without structural and moisture analysis.
Thermal mass needs a discharge cycle. If nights remain hot, windows cannot be opened, or ventilation is weak, the wall may stay warm and release heat indoors overnight. In a warm-humid climate with little night-time cooling, adding mass without external shade and a way to purge heat can increase discomfort.
Earth coupling and below-ground rooms
Basements and partly underground rooms exchange heat with soil whose temperature changes more slowly than outdoor air. In the Iranian examples, below-ground spaces provided a more stable environment during hot periods. The approach depends on drainage, groundwater, structure, radon control where relevant and a usable connection to the rest of the house.
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It is not suitable everywhere. The Iranian study specifically notes that below-ground construction can fail as a strategy on sites with high water tables. Moisture protection and local ground conditions must be assessed before treating earth contact as a cooling advantage.
Evaporation, vegetation and water
Water features and planting can combine shade with evaporation. In hot, dry air, a pool or damp surface can absorb heat as water changes to vapour, while vegetation shades paving and walls. The effect depends on airflow over the water and on the surrounding humidity.
Water is not a universal cooling ingredient. In humid climates, evaporation is limited because the air already contains substantial moisture. In arid regions, pools may also be inappropriate where water is scarce. The Iranian authors caution that water features must be judged against local water availability rather than added automatically.
Domes and rooms arranged for the seasons
The Iranian case study describes domed ceilings that provide volume for warm air to rise, with vents in some examples. Dome geometry can also increase the shaded ceiling area. A vented dome still needs a reliable pressure path; without an outlet or a cooler replacement air stream, hot air simply accumulates above the occupied zone.
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Which traditional strategy fits which problem?
| Strategy | Best climate or condition | Primary mechanism | What it depends on | Main cautions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior shutters, awnings, arcades and trees | Most climates with significant sun | Blocks solar gain | Correct orientation, seasonal adjustment and sound attachment | Historic façades, moisture, fire and consent requirements |
| Courtyard with shade and openings | Often useful in hot-arid settings | Shade, shelter and local air movement | Proportion, orientation, wind, surface temperatures and window operation | Can overheat in hot hours or warm-humid conditions |
| Cross ventilation and windcatcher | Sites with useful wind or cooler replacement air | Air movement and heat exhaust | Pressure difference, clear paths, secure openings and outdoor conditions | Hot, humid, dusty or polluted air can reduce benefit |
| Thick adobe or masonry | Hot-arid climates with cool nights | Thermal storage and delayed heat flow | Night ventilation and a sufficient night-time temperature drop | May retain heat where nights stay warm |
| Basement or earth-coupled room | Sites with suitable, dry ground | Stable soil temperature | Drainage, groundwater, structure and ventilation | High water tables and moisture risks |
| Pool, damp surface and planting | Hot, dry climates with available water | Evaporation and shade | Low humidity, airflow and sustainable water supply | Limited effect in humid climates; water scarcity |
| Dome, high vent and seasonal rooms | Climates with strong seasonal sun or stack potential | Warm-air stratification, shade and adaptive use | Vent placement, outlet path and occupant behavior | Regional form should not be copied without climate analysis |
How to adapt the principles to a contemporary or historic building
Use the following sequence before selecting a feature. It keeps the intervention tied to the actual heat problem instead of treating a historic image as a ready-made specification.
- Map the heat sources. Identify sun-exposed windows and roofs, hot paving, internal equipment, warm night conditions and rooms that overheat first.
- Describe the climate by season. Record whether nights cool enough for flushing, whether humidity limits evaporation, and whether useful wind arrives from a predictable direction.
- Choose the first passive control. Exterior shade is usually aimed at solar gain; ventilation at heat removal and comfort; mass at peak-delay; earth coupling at ground-stable temperatures; evaporation at dry-air conditions.
- Check the operating path. Draw where air enters and exits, when shutters close, how night openings are secured and how stored heat leaves the building. A feature without an operating path is only a form.
- Test the worst hours. Examine hot afternoons and warm nights, not just an average day. A courtyard or heavy wall that performs acceptably in a shoulder season may fail during the design heat.
- Protect the existing fabric. For a listed or historic building, assess fixings, masonry movement, moisture, fire safety, accessibility, reversibility and approvals. Historic England’s review emphasizes that risks, regulations and the individual building shape the acceptable intervention.
- Combine compatible measures. Shade can reduce the load before ventilation removes residual heat; thermal mass is more useful when night flushing can reset it. Avoid combinations that trap heat or add humidity.
Common failure modes and corrections
The courtyard is bright, hot and uncomfortable
Check its width-to-height ratio, exposed paving, wall orientation and the time of day being assessed. Add or restore shade where appropriate, improve room-to-court airflow only when outside conditions help, and avoid assuming that a pool will solve a solar-gain problem.
The heavy wall stays hot overnight
Measure or observe night-time temperatures and inspect whether secure openings create a real flushing route. If nights are not cooler than the wall, thermal mass cannot reset; external shade and controlled mechanical assistance may be needed instead.
Opening windows makes the room worse
Compare indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity before opening. Close sun-facing shutters during peak radiation, and ventilate when outside air is cooler or when moving air improves comfort without importing excessive moisture.
A windcatcher has little effect
Inspect the tower inlet, internal partitions, outlet height and obstructions. A windcatcher needs a pressure difference or buoyancy path; a sealed or poorly connected room will not receive the intended flow. Dust, rain and security requirements may also limit operation.
Water use is unsustainable
Calculate the available supply and maintenance burden before specifying a pool or misting feature. In humid or water-stressed settings, prioritize shade and appropriate ventilation rather than assuming evaporation is free cooling.
What the historical evidence can—and cannot—prove
The Iranian material is a detailed examination of seven houses, not a survey of every traditional building. The Tehran courtyard work is numerical analysis, the Colima findings are simulation-based, Historic England provides a literature review and analysis, and the UAE work combines simulation with temperature monitoring. Together they show mechanisms and context, not one guaranteed performance number for all buildings.
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