Secrets of Victorian Homes We May Need Again

I’ve been meaning to write about this for a couple of weeks, and somehow I just keep forgetting.

I LOVE living in a Victorian in the summer!

I’ve heard about how they designed houses before there was air conditioning or even electric fans to cool down said homes, and Victorians are designed perfectly to keep a house cool in the summer! Living in a structure based on that design has shown me the genius of it.

Firstly the compact shape of the home, squeezing the rooms IN and UP means that nearly all rooms are situated in or next to a corner, allowing for cross-breezes in the individual rooms. PLUS lots of extra corners and bits and bobs standing out all over the place! At night, simply opening windows on 2 walls in a room or area of the home means you get a nice flow of air across the room– even without a fan– in a way I’ve never had in any “box” styled home, let alone the long and low “ranch” or “rambler” type of house.

Secondly, the ATTIC! Opening windows on multiple floors at night also means cool air rushes in, and hot air rises up and OUT the attic windows. You know those dormers and cupolas? They’re frickin’ amazing at sucking all the hot air out of a house in a very short span of time, given that hot air rises and Victorians tend to be built tall. In addition, leaving an attic window open a little during a hot day means the hot air is still sucked up out of the house. I’ve experimented with and without fans and air conditioners, and it takes very little electric to cool this place. I’m actually shocked that we pay so little for A.C. when we have to use it (as we’ve had to the last 2 weeks during a heat wave in the upper 80s and low 90s.)

Thirdly, the cellar/basement! In the middle of a hot day, if there is no A.C. (or if you don’t want to use it) you can just open the door to the central cellar with the rest of the windows closed and just a crack open in an attic window and the cool air meanders up to cool the rest of the house! It tends to reach equilibrium (and is unable to cool further) just at about the time evening hits and the windows can be opened again. Then, you leave the door to the basement (in our case, north side cellar/garage) open a crack along with any basement windows and it will “fill” with cool air during the night as the rest of the house cools down so that you can use that pocket of cool air during the day again! Bonus if there is another covered area or porch on the northwest corner as we have by our garage/cellar! The coolest area KEPT cool by this innovation.

Fourthly, the high profile of the house! By virtue of creating a LOT of shade during the day compared to lower profile homes, there is a definite benefit during the summer. The shady side of the house in the morning gets windows left open longer on THAT side of the house, because it can be 15 degrees cooler compared to the sunny side of the house, as the large area of shade creates a micro-climate. Later, the OTHER side of the house that is shady by early evening gets that side’s windows opened first. You can see the design invites pockets of shade outside (yet brings a great deal of light into the home itself.)

Fifthly, deep porches on the south east corner of the house! We’ve learned that the hottest part of Heron House IS the southeast corner. It begins heating up first and is in the sun the longest period of the day. The wrap-around covered porches on the southeast tower minimize the heating effect from over-warming the walls and are in shade by late afternoon when people tend to seek a spot outside on the porch. Cat doesn’t have a wrap-around porch on her second floor and the difference is stark. I don’t think my bedroom can even GET hot, despite its southeast placement.

Meanwhile, you’ll notice that all the rooves have deep overhangs that create a lot more sun protection.

I’m obviously really impressed! This aspect of Victorian homes is something I’ve read about, but never really experienced before. It really is something amazing. So, the design of these homes, with all the extra corners and bits sticking out has a very practical, incredibly pragmatic side that I can really appreciate during successive days of heat. Given the eventual decline of fossil fuels and a planet heating up, I think it makes sense to take out these design ideas, give ‘em a good dusting off, and realize that “modern” architecture is incredibly wasteful!

I’ll have to get back to you on the HEATING of a Victorian this winter. We have 2 gas fireplaces and a woodstove, and I’m wondering if this design sucks the heat out that you WANT to keep in or not. It’s well-insulated, so I don’t think so, but I’ll have to see for myself on this. I promise another report during a cold snap (assuming we get one.)