ABSTRACT

This chapter introduces passive cooling and establishes a definition for vernacular passive cooling applicable to this research, and also identifies and explains traditional cooling systems implemented in vernacular dwellings in the hot and dry climates of Iran. Air-conditioning (A/C) is generally considered as the opposite of passive cooling. Many of the issues giving rise to the need for air-conditioning are believed to be solvable simply by improving the thermal performance of the building envelope, combined with the use of passive cooling systems. A vernacular passive cooling system applies to any passive cooling system that has traditionally been employed and used in vernacular buildings. The form of vernacular dwelling in hot arid zones of Iran before the twentieth century was predominantly single-storey inward-looking central-courtyard housing. Amongst the traditional cooling features, domestic basements or underground living spaces are repeatedly cited in the academic literature as an indispensable element of vernacular dwellings in the hot and dry regions of central Iran.