Dear MEL Topic Readers,
The ancient Persian way to keep cool
In most places, summer is hot, especially in arid places like Iran and Egypt where early civilizations developed millennia ago. How did those ancient people cool their buildings in summer? Surprisingly, they invented environmentally friendly yet efficient cooling architectural structures by catching the natural wind. Towers built on top of the roofs in rectangular or other shapes, catch air from the opening, funnel the air down to the ground floor, and deposit any sand or debris at the foot of the tower. Then the air circulates the building, goes up through another tower or opening being pushed by the pressure within the building, and leaves the building. There are quite a few factors to design these wind-catching towers more efficient, such as the direction and height of the tower, the number of openings, and internal configurations. Sounds ideal, doesn’t it? One drawback of this wind-catching tower is that it not only catches wind but pests, dust, and desert debris.
Still, this ancient architectural cooling system is drawing attention from many architects as it uses no electricity while modern mechanical air conditioning consumes about one-fifth of the total electricity.
Enjoy reading the article and learn about ancient ingenuity to cool buildings.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210810-the-ancient-persian-way-to-keep-cool
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