The History of Air Conditioning – It’s a Cool Story

As a species; humans have searched out cool air for centuries. Actually, being in a cave was much cooler than standing out in the sun. Instinctively we knew that being cooler was a desirable option to be coveted and protected. Ancient buildings such as the castles in Europe were created with cross ventilation; and the hand fan has been used since before actual air conditioning was even a thought.

Air conditioning as we know it today is a relatively new invention. Industry required new room conditions and a cooler atmosphere leading to the development of the first air conditioner by Willis Haviland Carrier. Willis Haviland Carrier had a Masters degree in Engineering from Cornell University and developed the first conditioning unit in 1902. He realized temperature and humidity needed to be controlled at the same time and was asked to assist a Brooklyn printing owner in stabilizing the printing room. Fluctuations in temperature and humidity caused his paper to shrink in dimension and would create enough of a fluctuation in size to make the ink off alignment on the page. When the environment was stabilized; it was possible to use four-color printing instead of just black. This new invention was called an Apparatus for Treating Air and the first patent was granted in 1906. This was the first of several patents that Carrier would hold.

Personal conditioning was first used at the New York Stock Exchange. This unit was developed by Alfred Wolffe, an engineer from New Jersey. Carrier is known as the originator of the air conditioner, but the term of “air conditioning” was started by a textile engineer Stuart H. Cramer. In 1906, Cramer filed a patent for a unit that added water vapor into the air in the textile plants. This was necessary to condition the yarns used. More and more industries such as film, meat processing, and keeping fresh and frozen foods were able to control the working environment during and after production. Controlling temperature and humidity paved the way for vast industrial quality control. Carrier and six engineers formed the Carrier Engineering Corporation in 1915 and the company had a mission of improving the technology of air conditioning.

Industries Boom Through The Use of Air Conditioning

Industries continued to benefit from Carrier’s patents when the centrifugal refrigeration machine was developed for cooling large spaces in 1921. Until this unit was developed, it was often toxic and somewhat dangerous to use the cooling systems. The compressor of the centrifugal refrigeration machine resulted in a safer and more efficient cooler. He knew expanding outside of the industrial arena was the next progression so in 1924, he installed a cooler in the J.L. Hudson Department Store in Detroit, Michigan. As you can imagine, people came in droves to the newly cooled shopping atmosphere. This cooling trend soon spread to theaters such as the New Empire Theater in Montgomery, Alabama, the Rivoli in New York, and the Central Park Theater in Chicago. There was soon no stopping the demand for air conditioned rooms. The first international exposition devoted exclusively to refrigeration was held in Chicago in 1913, and the House and Senate buildings had air conditioning installed in 1928 and 29.

The units had to become smaller to use in homes; so Carrier developed the “Weathermaker” in 1928. He did not create the first residential unit, but his system was truly the one that was safe to use and became quite popular. The Depression and WW2 slowed residential use, but after the war, demand started to grow again and soon the supply could not keep up with demand. This new residential cooling lead to changes in architecture as more windows could be used and less shading was required. Skyscrapers were built with windows because the central cooling allowed this type of design.

Most of us have owned an air conditioner at least once in our lives. It might have been a traditional window model, a central air conditioning unit that works in conjunction with the furnace or perhaps one of the newer portable air conditioners that moves with ease around the room. It has greatly improved the quality of our lives in every environment of living, at work and play. Our cars are now air conditioned and the computer equipment we own can have additional technical cooling. No matter what type of air conditioner is present in the environment; there is one man to thank for the “cool” reception and that is Willis Haviland Carrier.

Author Notes:

Beverly Marshall contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.thehistoryof.net. Her many articles offer guidance and suggestions for consumers buying a portable room air conditioner, water damage restoration dehumidifiers, home air filters, ceiling fan and more. She gives information and tips on a variety of topics to help you save money and make informed buying decisions.