An Abridged History of Air Conditioning

People have worked on making their homes more comfortable since the beginning of time. Having slaves to fan the rich and elite in hot countries is one way people tried to change the temperature where they were. Big blocks of ice transported over long distances was used a lot for refrigeration, but could be used for air conditioning as well. The 1840s, however, is when the history of modern air conditioning got its first start, but it wouldn't be until 1902 and Willis Carrier that air conditioning would gain traction and the need for air conditioning service in Gainesville, GA, would be invented. Here is a short history of air conditioning.

The First Air Conditioner

Willis Carrier was trying to solve the problem of humidity, which caused magazines to wrinkle among other problems, at publishing company. The humidity was controlled and could heat or lower the temperature. That means this first use of air conditioning was not as a cooling device specifically.

At the Movies

One of the first business sectors to truly take advantage of air conditioning was movie theaters. The first installed air conditioner at a cinema was in 1922 in Los Angeles. This brought in people who wanted to escape the heat of the sun. Other theaters soon followed suit. Movie studios capitalized on this by releasing their best films during the summer.

Home Air Conditioning

While Frigidaire invented a split-system AC unit for houses in 1929, and several smaller units were developed during the 1930s, air conditioners were still to expensive for the average household too purchase. IN 1947, about 47,000 window units were sold in the U.S., but it wasn't until the 1960s that it became financially feasible to build homes with central air conditioning units already installed. Nowadays, the Energy Information Administration says that about 87 percent of all homes have some sort of air conditioning.

Air Conditioning Fluids

Early air conditioners got their cooling power from CFCs and then hydrofluorocarbons. Both chemicals were found to damage the environment and have been phased out of AC units. Freon is the latest refrigerant to be banned from air conditioners with a mandate from the EPA. Some AC units use Puron and are unaffected by the ban. However, contacting an air conditioning service in Gainesville, GA, will help you diagnose your AC system and figure out what has to happen to be up to code.