Revolutionary Home Design Eliminates the Need for Air Conditioning

The innovative Rambaugh house in India’s central region, one of the hottest places on Earth, was designed to cool itself without the use of air conditioning.

The design incorporates decorative screens that filter sunlight and encourage air flow on the outside. A carefully planned stack ventilation system keeps the home within a comfortable 6-8 degree range year-round.

Traditional insulation methods such as double-envelope design work to maintain the desired temperature inside, without the use of an electrical cooling system.

Central India and South Florida lie at almost identical latitudes within 5 degrees of the equator, experiencing similar rainy and hot seasons. If effective architectural design can be utilized to create a space that is insulated against heat year-round in India, the same goal can certainly be achieved here as well. We don’t necessarily have to sacrifice comfort to lower our energy expenditure.

Inventive designs such as the Rambaugh house are appearing all over the world in climate change-threatened places like India. So the question we now find ourselves asking is “why not us?” If it is possible to eliminate one of the greatest energy consuming appliances in the home, it is our responsibility to incorporate these proven methods into our own environmentally-conscious designs.

If you’re interested in designing a home that uses solar energy and environmentally conscious design to reduce your new home's impact, check out some of our recent projects or get in contact with us. We would love to build your responsible future home by your side.

Thanks to Inhabitat for writing the original article about the Rambaugh house.