Air conditioners are such a big part of everyday life that many people don’t stop to consider who invented air conditioning. Although the idea for air conditioning has been around for centuries, it wasn’t until 1902 that the first air conditioner was patented by Willis H. Carrier. Mr. Carrier developed the unit as an employee of the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company, which was based in New York. The original purpose of the air conditioner was to cool printing machines. However, Carrier soon discovered that his air conditioner also helped to reduce humidity and improve indoor comfort. The public had waited a long time for such an invention.
Willis Carrier Markets His Invention
Several years after his original invention, Willis Carrier opened a factory in Syracuse, New York. He hired a team of manufacturers to mass-produce the air conditioning unit and sell it to the public. At that time, most people knew who invented air conditioning. The Carrier Corporation was the first to exclusively manufacture parts for HVAC systems and it remains the world’s leader today.
Movie theater owners were some of the first businesses to make widespread use of air conditioning. It became a big selling point during the summer months when they typically had less business. The Rivoli Theater on Broadway was the first movie theater to install an air conditioning system in 1922. It was so successful that owners of stores, government buildings and offices in the area also wanted air conditioning installed.
The Use of Air Conditioning Through the Decades
Window units were the standard form of air conditioning from 1902 all the way until the 1970s. By 1953, the Carrier Corporation sold over one million units every year. In the early 1970s, window units gave way to central air conditioning systems. These units were smaller in size and had the ability to cool an entire home or business, not just one room of it. R-22, a chemical coolant, proved to be extremely harmful to the environment. Scientists discovered that it was actually depleting the ozone layer of the earth. R-22 was replaced by R-410a in the late 1980s and early 1990s. R-410a provided the same cooling benefit without the harmful environmental effects. Carrier was the first company to completely phase out R-22 in its manufacturing plants.
Air Conditioning Options Today
Now that you know who invented air conditioning, it allows you to have a better understanding of how far the industry has come in just over 100 years. Bodine-Scott Air Conditioning Company of Corpus Christi, TX is proud of our status as a Carrier factory authorized dealer. We offer Carrier split system air conditioners as well as several other options for your Corpus Christi, TX home or business. If you are considering replacing an inefficient unit or installing air conditioning in your new home, contact Bodine-Scott Air Conditioning Company for a free estimate. We can also help you select the most energy efficient new air conditioner that fits into your budget.
