[Cob] cooling in the south

[Kate Bastedo]

   I'm in Georgia, and the traditional way of cooling was to have a  
basement...open the windows at night, allowing the cooler, less humid  
air to flow into the lower level. As the day heats up, you close  
those windows, and open the windows on the upper floor, causing the  
cooler air to be drawn up through the living quarters and vent  
through the top of the house.

High ceilings, deep eaves and wide porches,  thick walls, cross  
ventilation, awnings, siting a house to take advantage of prevailing  
breezes and deciduous shade trees, and acclimatization...all of those  
helped to keep folks comfortable...or at least more so than today's  
homes and habits.

My great grandmother, in NC, had a small trapdoor in her floor. In  
the summer, she'd replace it with a sort of wooden grate. This  
allowed the cooler air under her basement-less house to rise up and  
cool the house a bit.  I never noticed it being cooler, but then, I  
was a child with A/C....
KDB