A Brief History Of Air Conditioning
HVAC systems are of course essential for large buildings, office complexes, apartment complexes, retail stores, government buildings, healthcare facilities, and buildings all of all kinds including homes. The modern history of air conditioning (according to Bucknell University and early manufacturers) corresponds with engineering advances during the Industrial Revolution, and the need for refrigerating and transporting food, perishables, medical care, and of course, in work environments.
Early Milestones in the History of Air Conditioning
Innovations covering the history of air conditioning increased rapidly as the Industrial Revolution made previously unimaginable engineering feats possible—namely skyscrapers and large buildings. Some of the milestones along the path to commercial refrigeration followed the economic expansion of the late 1800s.
Alfred Wolff’s air conditioner was installed in the New York Stock Exchange in 1902. His 300-ton system worked reasonably effectively for 20 years. 1902 was a banner year, as the Armour Building (Kansas City) was the first office building constructed with an air conditioning system with zone control, ductwork and even a thermostat!
Other advances occurred quickly. The Brunswick Refrigerating Co. displayed a self-contained refrigerator unit at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. The company then specialized in refrigerators for butchers and home use.
In 1906, Stuart Cramer coined the term “air conditioning” for the system he developed for a textile plant in North Carolina. The Larkin Administration Building of Buffalo, New York (designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright), was the first office building designed to utilize an air conditioning system. The system used carbon dioxide as the refrigerant. A major name in air conditioning, Willis Carrier (yes, that Carrier!) filed a patent in 1906, for a “dew point control system” and followed that patent with other innovations. Also in 1906, the Boston Floating Hospital was the first hospital to use air conditioning to maintain wards at nearly 70˚ F. In 1907, Chicago’s Congress Hotel installed a system and the Kroeschell Brothers Ice Machine Company would go on to install units in movie theaters and hotels well into the 1930s.
Mass-Market Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
By the “Roaring 20s,” mass-market refrigeration and air conditioning systems increased in popularity. By 1914, self-contained refrigeration and air conditioning systems were marketed for residential use. Clarence Birdseye developed flash freezing in 1916, for food processing, transportation and storage.
In 1922, Carrier replaced ammonia with a less toxic dielene compound, and Carrier also introduced a compressor. Carrier’s commercial units were introduced to movie audiences in 1925, at the Rivoli in New York City. More advanced refrigeration systems and even ice cream refrigeration systems were marketed over the next decade. Sweden’s Electrolux (using a gas-fired absorption system) became popular after 1925; and General Electric marketed the first mass-market refrigeration systems for home usage in 1927. Even government ran on air conditioning with the House of Representatives receiving an air conditioning system in 1928—followed of course by the Senate, the Supreme Court and the White House all obtaining systems within the next year.
Major advances in the use and noteworthy events in history of air conditioning occurred throughout the 1930s. Frigidaire marketed a central air conditioning system for homes in 1931, following it’s “room cooler” in 1929. The common modern refrigerants or CFCs were developed in 1928. CFCs were trade-marked in 1930 as “Freon.” In 1936, Albert Henne, a team member that developed Freon synthesized the R-134a, a chemical that does not deplete ozone levels. Starting in the 1980s, this chemical, began replacing Freon as the primary refrigerant for most air conditioning systems.
Southern California Edison Company employed one of the first commercial heat pumps/air conditioning systems in a Los Angeles office building in 1931. Other advances followed including window unit air conditioners, window units using Freon in 1938, and air conditioning offered as an option on 1939 model year Packard automobiles—and by 1969 more than half of all automobiles had air conditioning!
After World War II, with the advent of mass consumerism in the United States, along with families that could afford the products, window air conditioners and standard central air conditioning systems became extremely popular.
When you need your commercial or residential air conditioning fixed, be sure to contact your local HVAC company in San Francisco, Innovative Mechanical for San Francisco AC related services. Local expertise means a lot, particularly in California, where air conditioning is an essential component of everyday life, work, recreation, shopping…and just living more comfortably.
Contact Innovative Mechanical for Residential or Commercial Air Conditioning/HVAC Servicing in San Francisco
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