cooling for mild warm humid climates

Cooling in mild warm humid climates – with moderate or low heating needs during winter months – depends largely on the diurnal range of temperatures and on the pattern of the breezes.

Diurnal range of temperatures and breezes

If there is a significant diurnal temperature variation in your region, and favorable breezes, then natural cooling is easy to implement in an effective way.

Passive solar heating

Since most mild-warm climates also require some heating in winter months, the implementation of a cooling strategy shouldn’t forget passive solar heating for the winter months. In other words: overhangs, vegetation, sun exposure and other design features shouldn’t damage the winter heating needs.

The natural cooling approach

The natural cooling approach for mild-warm climates involves some particulars relatively to other hotter and harsher climates, namely related with the dimensions of the windows, landscape, wall insulation levels and construction materials.

Windows and openings

Large windows and openings are good for cross ventilation. But they are also a potential source of unwanted cool air penetration during winter and heat gains during hot weather. So... consider both implications, according to your climate.

Landscape

Deciduous trees and vegetation in the sunny side of the home are important elements. Deciduous trees will not block the winter sun, which can be important in mild warm climates with cold or relatively cold winters...

Wall insulation

Wall insulation is usually advantageous in mild-warm climates. It will prevent undesired energy losses and avoid unwanted heat gains...

But there are specific climates and situations where insulation should be restricted and used carefully: climates and situations where natural cooling during the night (through ventilation) is important... In these cases, insulation would make cooling during the night more difficult.

Construction materials

In mild hot climates, with significant daily differences of temperatures, high mass construction materials (materials that materials that hold heat well, and not cool rapidly) are advantageous.

In climates with small diurnal differences of temperatures (mild-warm and tropical climates) low mass construction materials are preferable. They will make night cooling easier.

Other features

Natural cooling in mild warm climates involves also a large set of design features and methods that are common to other hotter climates. Namely:

- proper orientation to breezes;
- use of ceiling fans;
- use of overhangs:
- raised floors to a better exposure to wind (if possible).

The air conditioning approach

Air conditioning is expensive to run, and environmentally undesirable in hot mild climates, unless for well focused and mixed approaches. The issue is rather similar to what happens in tropical climates.

See for details, on this issue: AC for Hot Climates