Thermal Comfort and Passive Design

Already Socrates and later Vitruvius had some thoughts on the climatic suitability of buildings, but these had never seriously influenced architects and builders. Up to the Industrial Revolution, thermal comfort was largely an academic question and, as such, rarely raised. When it was cold, a fire was lit to ameliorate the conditions. The potential of the available controls was the limiting factor, rather than the risk of overheating. When it was hot, the use of hand-operated fans was about the only possibility for relief. Only in exceptional situations was the heat storage capacity of caves used for cooling, or—in some other cultures—man-made tunnels and wind towers used for a similar purpose. In none of these cases was it necessary to specify the desirable environmental conditions.