We had our air conditioners serviced a few days ago — they don’t do much, basically just check the pressures and clean the coils. I was just thinking that when I grew up, we didn’t have air conditioning. We had fans and during the summer we sat outside a lot. That’s pretty much what everybody did — only the “rich” people had air conditioning.
That’s not surprising, because air conditioning as we know it really didn’t exist until the 1930s and even then the individual room air conditioner ( the kind that sits on a window ledge) were only purchased by the people least likely to work up a sweat — the wealthy. Those cooling systems cost between $10,000 and $50,000 — that was a lot of money in the 1930s.
Primitive air-conditioning systems have existed since ancient times — attempts to control indoor temperatures seems to have started in ancient Rome, where (again, the wealthy) citizens took advantage of the city’s remarkable aqueduct system to circulate cool water through the walls of their homes. But until fairly recently, fans were the coolant of choice. A Chinese inventor is credited with building the first room-sized rotary fan, powered by hand.
Credit for the development of the air conditioner as we know it today is credited to Willis Haviland Carrier, a Buffalo native. Carrier worked for a heating company in upstate New york and was tasked with devising a solution for a printing company whose equipment was going haywire because of the summer humidity. His proposal involved fans, coils and coolants. He later developed the first residential “Weathermaker” — an air conditioner for private home use.
During one of our far-reaching discussions after playing golf recently, we were talking about what one invention has changed the world the most — three out of four of us thought it was the invention of air conditioning. (One of us thought it was sliced bread.)
I personally am not a big fan of air conditioning — air conditioned places are generally too cold for me, and I just prefer ‘fresh’ air. I do certainly agree that air conditioning has made quite a contribution to our lives — although not necessarily for the best. Washington, D. C. turns into what some have called a sweltering swamp in the summer. It just may be that problems with the government began to get out of hand with the invention of air conditioning. Before AC, Congress and government officials only stayed in town a few months and left town during the summers. Along comes air conditioning and they stick around all year, generally mucking things up.
But all that aside, our air conditioner has been serviced and we’re ready for warm weather — so here’s to you W. H. Carrier.
Actually our AC is a Carrier so the company deserves a mention; since I’m writing this on a Mac, I suppose they should be mentioned in a favorable light, too. Do you know why computers are like air conditioners? They quit working properly when you open Windows. My apologies to Bill Gates….
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