Emeritus Professor's home serves as case study in passive cooling

September 16, 2025

BY NAOMI KING ENGLAR

New Orleans architect and Emeritus Professor John Klingman has lived comfortably without air conditioning for more than 30 years, relying on ceiling fans, shutters and smart ventilation. Now, as climate change drives hotter summers, he recently shared with The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate what still works for his 1898 house in Uptown New Orleans.

Below is an excerpt from the article:

On a humid summer morning, the temperature inside John Klingman’s 19th-century home hovers around 80 degrees. There’s no air conditioning running, but it doesn’t feel stifling. Fans circulate air across shaded floorboards. Louvered shutters manage the sun like clockwork. Birds chirp in the garden.

“So you see, we’re in pretty good shape,” Klingman said, pausing by a thermostat. “We’re not even close to the limit of comfort.”

Over a decade ago, Klingman was featured in The Times-Picayune for doing something most New Orleanians would never attempt: living without air conditioning by choice. [...] But 13 years later, the 78-year-old is still at it — mostly. About five years ago, he installed air conditioning, thinking he might want to sell his house one day and wouldn’t be able to without a feature most people in the South see as a necessity. Now, the system serves a different purpose: it’s what allows him to keep living mostly AC-free.

Read more about Klingman's home on Nola.com.