{"id":47486,"date":"2026-07-28T14:42:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=47486"},"modified":"2026-07-28T14:42:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:42:21","slug":"ihbc-features-heritage-from-the-expert-doorstep-five-reasons-why-victorian-houses-are-cooler-than-modern-buildings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=47486","title":{"rendered":"IHBC features \u2018Heritage from the (\u2018expert\u2019) doorstep\u2019: \u2026 \u2018five reasons why Victorian houses are cooler than modern buildings\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Victorian_Houses_on_Southfield_-_geograph.org.uk_-_355822.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"470\" src=\"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Victorian_Houses_on_Southfield_-_geograph.org_.uk_-_355822.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47487\" srcset=\"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Victorian_Houses_on_Southfield_-_geograph.org_.uk_-_355822.jpg 640w, https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Victorian_Houses_on_Southfield_-_geograph.org_.uk_-_355822-300x220.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-gray-color has-text-color has-link-color has-small-font-size wp-elements-10d8b102eaa7b47dff47c07dcc537614 wp-block-paragraph\">image for illustration: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Victorian_Houses_on_Southfield_-_geograph.org.uk_-_355822.jpg\">Victorian houses on Southfield, David Wright\u00a0via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than four million homes were built in the UK during the Victorian era and yet, these homes are cooler in summer than many built more recently, explains \u2018<em>The Conversation\u2019<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Conversation writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026 Here are some fundamental architectural reasons why this is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1. Shutters<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many Victorian homes featured external wooden shutters\u2026 blocking the sun\u2019s heat before it enters the building<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2. Canopies and awnings<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026 have a similar effect to external shutters by blocking the sun\u2019s heat before it enters the building. Canopies and awnings have\u2026 other benefits\u2026&nbsp; can be used alongside outward opening windows, so they don\u2019t block ventilation\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3. Sash windows<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026 Victorians used sliding sash windows which could be operated even with the external shutters closed\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">4. Leaky by design<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026 These types of homes, with open chimneys, suspended timber floors, and uninsulated solid brick walls, are the leakiest and least airtight homes in the British housing stock. This allows more air to enter the building, even when windows are closed, which can cool the home in summer\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">5. Solid brick<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026 an ancient church on a hot day \u2026 the real reason for the instant cool feeling is in the huge amounts of thermal mass \u2013 the ability of the building to store heat within the building fabric\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What goes wrong?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026 Often the way they have been adapted\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Victorian building design has lessons for today\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/heatwaves-five-reasons-why-victorian-houses-are-cooler-than-modern-buildings-283934\">Read more here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>image for illustration: Victorian houses on Southfield, David Wright\u00a0via Wikimedia Commons More than four million homes were built in the UK during the Victorian era and yet, these homes are cooler in summer than many built more recently, explains \u2018The &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=47486\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[937,11,515,936,410],"class_list":["post-47486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ihbc-newsblog","tag-heat","tag-housing","tag-residential","tag-thermal","tag-victorian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47486"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47488,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47486\/revisions\/47488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}