Since its inception, reliable air conditioning has been immensely helpful in keeping people cool during periods of hot weather, especially when electric fans weren’t enough. It has become a must-own technology, so much so that it can be found everywhere from houses and stores to cars, boats, and airplanes.
Before the modern air conditioning came to be, there were other ways of cooling that people used. In an article by Salvatore Basile entitled An appreciation of air conditioning, he wrote that: “One of the first cooling contraptions offered to the public showed up around 1865, the brainchild of inventor Azel S. Lyman: Lyman’s Air Purifier.” It consisted of a cabinet that formed the headboard of a bed, which is divided into different levels that held the ice cooling the air.
Then, in 1882, the electric fan was introduced. Until that time, fans were intended for public buildings and not for homes. It was quite costly for that time, but people were purchasing them nonetheless. By the turn of the century, the NEVO, or cold air stove, was invented and combined the fan with ice.
In 1902, a man named Willis Carrier invented the ‘Apparatus for Treating Air’, a machine that actually cooled the air and dried it. Other factories started to take notice of this invention, and soon Carrier established the Carrier Air Conditioning Company of America. Initially, air conditioning was feared as unhealthy. Some people believed that indoor air consisted of carbon dioxide (CO2) that could harm one’s health; however, there were others, such as cinema owners, who fully supported air conditioning and soon enough, it found its way to people’s homes. Today, it can be found almost everywhere you go.
Air conditioners, and cooling in general, has truly come a long way since their humble beginnings. From the first cooling system, people went on to find ways to keep themselves cool and comfortable during hot and warm days. In fact, to this very day, new ways to cool homes are still being improved and discovered.
If you are in need of air conditioning systems, repair, or maintenance, look for companies with quality and cheap air conditioning services such as Mode Heating & Cooling. Such firms also provide excellent air conditioning systems and can look into your unit and identify issues that warrant immediate repair.
(Source: An appreciation of air conditioning, OUPblog, August 15, 2014)
