What Did We Do Before Air Conditioning?

Air conditioning.  Gotta love it, right?  Especially this time of year.  But think about this for a moment;  The modern air conditioner was invented in the 1920s and actually did not become common in homes until the latter half of the 20^th century. 

You may wonder how did our grandparents or great grandparents get through the heat waves of yesteryear?

According to OffGridRequest.com, here in the Northern climates, it was common to let air flow cool the house. For instance,

it was common to create a “stack effect” by opening windows in the basement and top floor. This generated a cool breeze through the house. Further south, before AC many homes were built on blocks, allowing breezes to flow underneath and help keep them cool all summer long.

 

Other methods that helped were tall ceilings and large windows. To see the full list of how our forefathers kept their houses cool, check out OffGridRequest.com.