Scotland is very unlikely to reach the scorch felt by the south-east of England in the next few days, but the mercury hitting the high-20s here is unusual enough for our bodies, more used to donning thermal vests and anoraks in July, to undergo something of a shock.

Problems that such weather cause are almost all down to the nation simply not being used to it, and that includes the way our homes are designed.

With global temperatures becoming more volatile, building homes that are cool in summer and warm in winter is increasingly important in the UK.

Technology helps – photovoltaic panels for power generation, thermal solar panels for heat collection, and windows optimised to gain and retain the sun’s heat will harness energy in the rightdirection – but these moves can be highly expensive.

There are simpler solutions. Homes can be designed to regulate temperature, and for the best ideas we should take a lesson from the ancients.

Islamic architects discovered a millennium ago that high walls, evaporative cooling towers and shady courtyards with fountains are the passive way to deal with extreme heat.

But then the creators of the Alhambra Palace were unlikely to have to worry about four months of freezing drizzle with just a few hours of light each day, as those of us living in Scotland inevitably do.

However, other early innovators did have to deal with more extreme variations in temperature.

By about 700 AD, cliff dwellers in what is now the US state of Colorado, where it can be scorching in summer and freezing in winter, had worked out how to make homes shaded from the August sun, but fully exposed to its rays in December to heat rocks for warmth.

And the same basic principles apply today. Passive heating and cooling in homes is just a matter of determining where the sun’s exposure will be at different times of year and utilising it to the best advantage.

The seasonal position of the sun means that in the winter it is low and will reach far into a house, and in summer it is high overhead and easy to keep out with shading.

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So the simplest way to take advantage is to work out where the sun is, and point your windows accordingly. Adding deep roof overhangs can help keep it naturally cool when the sun is high.

Deciduous trees surrounding a property can offer shading in summer as well as heat in the winter after the leaves have fallen, acting like nature’s seasonal curtains.

Retrofitting passive measures in an older house can be complicated, but awnings outside are better than blinds inside, which can trap warm air which then circulates.

However, insulating our homes properly – either as a new-build or for an older traditional property – will reap most dividends.

With utility prices hitting record highs, many are thinking of improving insulation before the winter where we can.

Doing it now, rather than in October, means that our homes stay cool however hot it gets.

- Kirsty McLuckie is property editor at The Scotsman

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