Look

closely at Tim and Wanda Michels' two-story brick house and it's clear

that they make good use of their shady, north-facing front porch in University

City, Mo.

Comfortable

butterfly chairs, small tables for iced lemonade, a book in progress and

muddy shoes recently kicked off attest to a lifestyle that's more outdoors

than in.

Step

inside their house and feel the temperature drop a few degrees on this

slightly muggy day. But the windows are open and no fans are in evidence.

There

is no air conditioning here.

"How

did people live before air conditioning?" Tim Michels asks, and answers

his own question.

"They

acclimated. When you allow your body to acclimate, your creature comfort

levels adapt with it. You don't have such a severe requirement for absolute

temperature control."

In

many areas, the un-air-conditioned are a distinct minority.

For

their home, the Michelses rely on an attic fan that sucks the warm air

out of the house at night.

The

fan is in the second-floor ceiling. They turn it on at night when the

outside temperature drops below the inside temperature.

The

Michelses also have ceiling fans in their kitchen and dining room and,

when needed, they'll bring out oscillating fans for other rooms.

Tim

Michels is an energy consultant with his own business, Energy Solutions

Inc. He specializes in telling business and industry how to improve their

energy efficiency.

Understanding

how heat affects the thermal mass of his home is key to Michels' ability

to keep the house comfortable.

Heat

moves through walls slowly, reaching its peak six to eight hours after

the hottest time of day, depending on the density of the walls.

Sometime

around 8 or 9 p.m. is usually the time to turn on the fan. For sleeping,

the Michelses position beds beneath windows to take full advantage of

air movement.

But

once the heat hits with full vengeance, how do they cope?

"We

eat lots of popsicles and watermelon," Wanda Michels said. "I

go more frequently to the pool. We eat mostly salads and we don't have

many dinner guests."

"We

sweat a lot," her husband adds. "I go around like my father

did, with a towel around his neck. But there are often just four or five

days when the humidity and temperature are so high it's out of my comfort

level." And he claims there have been no such days in the past two

years.

"For

a possible few such days a year, do I want to spend $25,000 to air-condition

my house?"

Some

people draw the drapes and close up rooms as it gets hotter. Not the Michelses,

who prefer to be as open as possible to the outside.

"It's

only summer part of the year, and I just hate to miss it," Tim Michels

said.

Similarly,

John and Harriet Davidson don't have air conditioning in their home near

St. Louis.

Davidson,

a recently retired physician, and his wife employ some of the methods

popular two generations ago: closing windows and drawing drapes during

the heat of the day, then opening up windows as the night brings cooler

air. They mourn the loss of a few of the century-old trees that surrounded

their home.

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