We are headed into the cooler months in Australia.  At this time of year, most people are not worrying about air-conditioning or keeping cool.  In fact, this is the time of year when you want to think about having your a/c serviced.

About 80{4ff670bb91f5a71bed27471ead6462c9b16f5bdce5956c8330f96255c052ee42} of Australian homes have air conditioning. The electricity grid can struggle to keep up with the demand during hot weather. Have you ever thought about how you would survive the sweltering days of summer without a/c? What if there was no electricity for some time? What would you do? One way to think about it is to examine what people did and how they survived in days past when there was no air conditioning.

They Changed Their Clothes

Most modern-day clothing can be worn year-round. That wasn’t the case decades ago when A/C wasn’t common. At that time there was a very definite delineation between summer and winter clothes.

In the colder months, people wore heavier woollen garments. Women who worked in kitchens resorted to woollen dresses.  Not only is it warmer it is also resistant to fire, making it ideal when working near open flames.  

Summer clothing was much lighter and often made from linen or cotton. If you visit the tropics today you will see most of the natives and smart visitors wearing little clothing, and what they do wear is very lightweight. Shorts, t-shirts, and slippers are very much the order of the day. In Hawaii, which is hot year-round, cotton aloha shirts are worn for almost any occasion, except courtroom appearances and other formal affairs.

Many lightweight fabrics are suitable for keeping you cool and protected from the sun.

Leave The City

Heading for a “summer vacation” has long been a tradition. It started as a way to beat the heat by leaving the hot and clammy cities behind. The wealthy retreated to cooler climes. They would maintain summer houses on the beach or in the mountains to escape the stifling heat.

The poorer classes would also head to these places. Farmers would escape to the nearest shore, build a fishing shack and “commute” back to their fields.  These fishing shacks turned into bungalows and cottages which are still prized possessions for many.

Fans

Handheld fans have been around for thousands of years. Everything from an old newspaper to imported silk has been used to fashion a fan to generate a cool breeze and chase away flies and other pesky insects.

Cooking

Before electricity, cooking and baking required keeping a fire burning in a hearth or a wood-burning stove. To keep houses cool,  and to minimize the risk of fire, many houses had a small separate building near the house called a summer kitchen. This helped keep the house cool and reduced the risk of fire.  

In many parts of the world today, cooking is done outside away from the main house. It is cooler and keeps your main dwelling and living area cooler.  

Time Spent Outside

Before electricity and air conditioning, people spent more time outside. It is a relatively recent adaptation to spend time cooped up indoors.  

Wide accommodating porches and verandas were almost universally part of every house design in the 19th century. These areas provided relief from the heat and a place to meet and socialize.

In modern-day Australia, air conditioning is very much part of the landscape. It accounts for almost 20{4ff670bb91f5a71bed27471ead6462c9b16f5bdce5956c8330f96255c052ee42} of the energy cost of commercial buildings and has come under increasing scrutiny by regulators looking to achieve more energy efficiency.

It is a luxury we have all come to enjoy and helps keep our houses cool and life liveable when the weather reaches extreme conditions.