# Question surrounding warm weather climates



## JeremiahJohnson (May 29, 2013)

If you homestead or live off the grid, how do you keep your home from becoming extremely hot during the summer months? 
Wouldn't cooking with a wood stove cause your home to become very hot?


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Shade trees. Covered porches. Ceiling fans. Large windows that have the ability to open both top and bottom. Outside kitchens for cooking and canning.


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## ognend (Sep 15, 2010)

Old Florida cracker houses had their kitchens separate from the house. The also were built with large porches and "runs" in the middle of the house to let air circulate.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Lots and lots of insulation.

Extra tall ceilings help too.

Then make lots of shade with vines or trees.


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## Muleman (Nov 8, 2013)

If you look back at houses built before modern central air you will find many similarities in the design down south. Very tall ceilings was one of them. 12' ceilings were not uncommon. The dog run type house which was mentioned were also quite common, basically one roof with a room on either side of a open hallway down the middle. Normally the bedrooms would be on one side and the dining room and kitchen would be on the other. Lots of ventilation. They all had large windows that would actually open and they all had doors that could also be opened on opposite ends of the houses. Attic fans were another good way to cool the house. Crack the windows in the house, the bed was normally beside a window. The attic fan would draw in cool night air which passed over the bed and out the room into a hall where the air was then pulled to the ceiling into the attic and out attic vents. My grandmother would normally get up before daylight to cook breakfast and bake anything for that days meals very early so the kitchen could cool back down before the sun came up and it really got hot out. People spent a lot of their time sitting on a porch or outside. There was none of this being piled up on a sofa in front of the TV, people would do weird things like talk or actually work on small projects that would turn out something useful. I know crazy right? Kinda makes you wonder. When did they ever fond time to simply waste by setting in front of a TV, they did not. The day was spend out of doors actually doing stuff.

Anyone looking to build an off grid house for living in hot climates would do well to look at houses from 100 years ago, probably as much or more than looking at the modern high efficiency experiments. Those old homes were not experimental, they were actually lived in.

Me and my wife spent a month living in a tent one summer while fencing a new property we had at the time. The morning would wake you up early as the tent was in full sun and would warm quickly when the sun came up. The day was spent outside working and yes it was hot. The evening we would cook on a fire or camp stove then a little before it got dark take a 5 gal. bucket of water into a makeshift shower and clean up. The cold water shower would cool you down and in all honestly after that most nights it was a little chilly when it got dark and you went to bed, slept like a baby, cause you were tired, but very comfortable.

Short answer for me it. You not only build your home different, you live your life different and adjust your lifestyle and the timing in which you do things.

I can't wait to get moved out of our current 2500' plus house with central heat and air to a much smaller cabin type house with lots of windows a big porch and NO central heat and air. Just a much better way to life with more outside activities and natural ventilation.


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## Living4ALiving (Jun 2, 2015)

Central Arkansas, we don't use our AC except for July and August! We have vaulted ceilings, attic fan, and we have some old cast iron ceiling fans (swear they have jet motors, lol)! Works great for us!


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