how have civilizations stayed cool before the air conditioner or fans for that matter?
(all i have are fans - you leave all the windows open all night to let the cool breeze in and before 10 am you close all the windows and shades to keep cool and then when the cool evening breeze starts, you open all the windows and get the fans blowing the cool air in)
well, i remember hearing about ancient arab cooling chimneys, keeping interiors cool in 120 degree F summers. and this is what i found out:
these tall chimney like structures are called wind catchers or wind towers and the basic principle is that they capture the prevailing breeze above the house and since cool air is denser than warm, it subsequently falls in the chimney which is then ventilated to the house. this kept interiors cool, paired with thick walls enhancing the trombe wall effect.
there are many variations of the design, one being a solar chimney, that fit a specific microclimate's needs
i got really excited about incorporating wind towers
and then i found this project - man oh man, someone beat me to it, not just with the wind tower but the whole layout and concept - oh well . . . but the 99k house is really cool and hopefully it's being built
and then i was thinking well, how come you don't harness the convective energy with localized windmills? i surely will
hey! someone's thought of that already too and i thought this ancient technology had fallen off the grid, almost
it's just nice to know that there is a movement out there, no matter how small it is now, i know it will be obvious in the near future
