Praise the man who invented air conditioning

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The Father of Cool
Willis Haviland Carrier - The History of Air Conditioning
By Mary Bellis

In 1902, only one year after Willis Haviland Carrier graduated from Cornell University with a Masters in Engineering, the first air (temperature and humidity) conditioning was in operation, making one Brooklyn printing plant owner very happy. Fluctuations in heat and humidity in his plant had caused the dimensions of the printing paper to keep altering slightly, enough to ensure a misalignment of the colored inks. The new air conditioning machine created a stable environment and aligned four-color printing became possible. All thanks to the new employee at the Buffalo Forge Company, who started on a salary of only $10.00 per week.

The 'Apparatus for Treating Air' (U.S. Pat# 808897) granted in 1906, was the first of several patents awarded to Willis Haviland Carrier. The recognized 'father of air conditioning' is Carrier, but the term 'air conditioning' actually originated with textile engineer, Stuart H. Cramer. Cramer used the phrase 'air conditioning' in a 1906 patent claim filed for a device that added water vapor to the air in textile plants - to condition the yarn.

In 1911, Willis Haviland Carrier disclosed his basic Rational Psychrometric Formulae to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The formula still stands today as the basis in all fundamental calculations for the air conditioning industry. Carrier said he received his 'flash of genius' while waiting for a train. It was a foggy night and he was going over in his mind the problem of temperature and humidity control. By the time the train arrived, Carrier had an understanding of the relationship between temperature, humidity and dew point.

Industries flourished with the new ability to control the temperature and humidity levels during and after production. Film, tobacco, processed meats, medical capsules, textiles and other products acquired significant improvements in quality with air conditioning. Willis and six other engineers formed the Carrier Engineering Corporation in 1915 with a starting capital of $35,000 (1995 sales topped $5 billion). The company was dedicated to improving air conditioning technology.

In 1921, Willis Haviland Carrier patented the centrifugal refrigeration machine. The 'centrifugal chiller' was the first practical method of air conditioning large spaces. Previous refrigeration machines used reciprocating-compressors (piston-driven) to pump refrigerant (often toxic and flammable ammonia) throughout the system. Carrier designed a centrifugal-compressor similar to the centrifugal turning-blades of a water pump. The result was a safer and more efficient chiller.

Cooling for human comfort, rather than industrial need, began in 1924, noted by the three Carrier centrifugal chillers installed in the J.L. Hudson Department Store in Detroit, Michigan. Shoppers flocked to the 'air conditioned' store. The boom in human cooling spread from the department stores to the movie theaters, most notably the Rivoli theater in New York, whose summer film business skyrocketed when it heavily advertised the cool comfort. Demand increased for smaller units and the Carrier Company obliged.

In 1928, Willis Haviland Carrier developed the first Residential 'Weathermaker', an air conditioner for private home use. The Great Depression and then WW2 slowed the non-industrial use of air conditioning. After the war, consumer sales started to grow again. The rest is history, cool and comfortable history.

Willis Haviland Carrier did not invent the very first system to cool an interior structure, however, his system was the first truly successful and safe one that started the science of modern air conditioning. You can read about the earlier history of air conditioning in the recommended reading material listed in the left sidebar.

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"Left sidebar"
To read the "left sidebar":

http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa081797.htm

[quote]You can read about the earlier history of air conditioning in the recommended reading material listed in the left sidebar.[/quote]

This article sort of reminds one of why President Eisenhower helped institute our marvelous U.S. nationwide highway system: For troop movements! Thankfully, we all benefit!

And, thank you, BumbleBeeBoogie, for bringing it to us.[/color]

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I'll praise him...just as soon as we get ours back on.
The repairman is coming today at 1.
Yay.

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BBB
It was affordable air conditioning that allowed the American south west to develop.

Home air conditioning systems around the world

Domestic air conditioning is most prevalent and ubiquitous in developed Asian nations such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, especially in the latter two due to most of the population living in small high-rise flats. In this area, with soaring summer temperatures and a high standard of living, air conditioning is considered a necessity and not a luxury. Japanese-made domestic air conditioners are usually window or split types, the latter being more modern and expensive. It is also increasing in popularity with the rising standard of living in tropical Asian nations such as India, Malaysia and the Philippines.

In the United States, home air conditioning is more prevalent in the South and on the East Coast, in most parts of which it has reached the ubiquity it enjoys in East Asia. Central air systems are most common in the United States, and are virtually standard in all new dwellings in most states.

In Europe, home air conditioning is less common in part due to higher energy costs. The lack of air conditioning in homes, in residential care homes and in medical facilities was identified as a contributing factor to the estimated 35,000 deaths left in the wake of the 2003 heat wave. Due to the 2003 and the 2006 heatwaves, portable air conditioners have become more popular in the UK, with the prices falling below £200 for a 9000 BTU unit.

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BBB
History

The 19th century British scientist and inventor Michael Faraday discovered that compressing and liquefying ammonia could chill air when the liquefied ammonia was allowed to evaporate.

In 1842, Florida physician Dr. John Gorrie used compressor technology to create ice, which he used to cool air for his patients. He hoped eventually to use his ice-making machine to regulate the temperature of buildings. He even envisioned centralized air conditioning that could cool entire cities. Though his prototype leaked and performed irregularly, Gorrie was granted a patent in 1851 for his ice-making machine. His hopes for its success vanished soon afterwards when his chief financial backer died. Gorrie did not get the money he needed to develop the machine. According to his biographer Vivian M. Sherlock, he blamed the "Ice King," Frederic Tudor, for his failure, suspecting that Tudor has launched a smear campaign against his invention. After Gorrie's death in 1855 the idea of air conditioning faded away for some years.

Early commercial applications of air conditioning were manufactured to cool air for industrial processing rather than personal comfort. In 1902 the first modern electrical air conditioning was invented by Willis Haviland Carrier. Designed to improve manufacturing process control in a printing plant, his invention controlled not only temperature but also humidity. The low heat and humidity were to help maintain consistent paper dimensions and ink alignment. Later Carrier's technology was applied to increase productivity in the workplace, and The Carrier Air Conditioning Company of America was formed to meet rising demand. Over time air conditioning came to be used to improve comfort in homes and automobiles. Residential sales expanded dramatically in the 1950s.

In 1906, Stuart W. Cramer of Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, was exploring ways to add moisture to the air in his textile mill. Cramer coined the term "air conditioning," using it in a patent claim he filed that year as an analogue to "water conditioning", then a well-known process for making textiles easier to work. He combined moisture with ventilation to "condition" and change the air in the factories, controlling the humidity so necessary in textile plants. Willis Carrier adopted the term and incorporated it into the name of his company.

The first air conditioners and refrigerators employed toxic gases like ammonia and methyl chloride, which could result in fatal accidents when they leaked. Thomas Midgley, Jr. created the first chlorofluorocarbon gas, Freon, in 1928. The refrigerant was much safer for humans but was later found to be harmful to the atmosphere's ozone layer. "Freon" is a trade name of Dupont for any CFC, HCFC, or HFC refrigerant, the name of each including a number indicating molecular composition (R-11, R-12, R-22, R-134). The blend most used in direct-expansion comfort cooling is an HCFC known as R-22. It is to be phased out for use in new equipment by 2010 and completely discontinued by 2020. R-11 and R-12 are no longer manufactured in the US, the only source for purchase being the cleaned and purified gas recovered from other air conditioner systems. Several ozone-friendly refrigerants have been developed as alternatives, including R-410A, known by the brand name "Puron".

Latest air conditioners usually have air sterilization effects, such as the recent air conditioners that have germicidal and neutralization benefits.

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I don't use an air-codition, even if my area gets really hot at summer.

Many times it feels unnatural and disturbing Razz

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Ellinas

Ellinas wrote:

I don't use an air-codition, even if my area gets really hot at summer.

Many times it feels unnatural and disturbing .

Do you have high humidity with the heat in Arcadia, Greece?

BBB

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Ellinas wrote:

I don't use an air-codition, even if my area gets really hot at summer.

Actually, it's quite interesting that you seldom find air-condioners in European southern countries ... unless in (modern) hotels and some (modern) shops.

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Re: Ellinas

BumbleBeeBoogie wrote:

Ellinas wrote:
I don't use an air-codition, even if my area gets really hot at summer.

Many times it feels unnatural and disturbing .

Do you have high humidity with the heat in Arcadia, Greece?

BBB

I was just going to ask him that...I just looked at a site that listed the humidity levels by month in Athens (don't know if that's near you)...there, it seems to just in the summer 30 something percent.

Where I am Ellinas, it'll be 100F and 98% humidity at times. I can think how people with lung problems can breath.

I love living here for the rest of the year, but not July, August and part of Sept.

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Re: Ellinas

BumbleBeeBoogie wrote:

Do you have high humidity with the heat in Arcadia, Greece?

BBB

The good thing in my coastal town is that we have a cool Southern wind coming from the sea which starts almost every afternoon. Because of this the humidity is higher at night. This wind makes the situation much better.

The situation is much worse in nearby towns who are close to the coasts, but not not along them.

Walter Hinteler wrote:

Actually, it's quite interesting that you seldom find air-condioners in European southern countries ... unless in (modern) hotels and some (modern) shops.

Well, 95% of the Greeks have air-conditions in their houses. I said that I don't have (I belong to the 5% Laughing

)

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Re: Ellinas

Ellinas wrote:

Well, 95% of the Greeks have air-conditions in their houses. I said that I don't have (I belong to the 5% )

So I know only people related the those 5%. :wink:

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If you married and your wife wanted airconditioning, would you get it?

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Praise him?

I don't think so.

Increased electrical demands ... people living where they shouldn't ... watering systems for lawns that don't belond where they are ... they shoulda shot the fella ... before he started this mess.

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Chai Tea wrote:

If you married and your wife wanted airconditioning, would you get it?

If she would insist, probably. It is not that much disturbing for me, but I feel better without it (always considering that I live in the current place).

However, before I get married I will make sure that my wife will have the same ideas and fancies with me (j/k) Laughing

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Ellinas wrote:

Chai Tea wrote:
If you married and your wife wanted airconditioning, would you get it?

If she would insist, probably. It is not that much disturbing for me, but I feel better without it (always considering that I live in the current place).

However, before I get married I will make sure that my wife will have the same ideas and fancies with me (j/k) .

Every marriage involves learning surprising things about your mate after the fact. :wink:

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ehBeth wrote:

Praise him?

I don't think so.

Increased electrical demands ... people living where they shouldn't ... watering systems for lawns that don't belond where they are ... they shoulda shot the fella ... before he started this mess.

Maybe this is a little harsh ebeth.
I see it as an opportunity for people to avoid having to live in overpopulated conditions, and being able to do so in relative comfort.

I'm sure Mrs. Carrier is glad he wasn't shot.

Living in the South, every year I wonder how people who DID choose to settle here put up with the heat. Albeit houses were built differently, with porches, breezeways, etc. But let me tell ya...it gets to a point where no amount of wind will keep you cool

For me, living in comfort makes me an infinitely more productive, healthy person. I could not work in this heat, I'd probably languish in bed. Really.

Efficiency of air conditioning as increased tremendously over the past few years.

Before our remodel, we had two 15 to 20 year old window units, that cooled 1400 square feet. It was a battle to get through the summer, it made it barely tolerable, the temperature fluctuated constantly, and of course there were the bills.

Now, we have an efficient central system that cools 2000 sq very very comfortably. We have a constant, dry temperature, and our electric bills are less. The house is cleaner, spirits are better and energy levels are way up.

The other day I heard what people here use daily in water, per person each month in the summer. I was amazed that what we used was exactly half.

Most citizens aren't water wasters, it's industry and business.

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Harsh?

I'm one of the nice guys on this issue, when you get into land use politics. I think it's a horrible misuse of resources, but I'm still a moderate on this.

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ehBeth wrote:

Harsh?

I'm one of the nice guys on this issue, when you get into land use politics. I think it's a horrible misuse of resources, but I'm still a moderate on this.

I guess I'm not understanding. Are you saying towns and cities should not have been developed anywhere where the temperature reaches 100F for more than a few days a year? Where would these people live? For me, I can't understand so many people make the choice to life so far North that they must burn coal, oil, wood or use electicity to keep from freezing to death.

People have been been living on the equator and close to the pole for thousands of years. I can't speak for every place in the world, but I don't see central Texas as some place where people have no right to be. We could live here, and obviously people have just about forever. It would just be so hot that we could not get any real work done, inside or out.

This isn't an argument, I'd really like to hear your thoughts on what would be a proper use of resources.

Heat, especially combined with humidity, can be very dangerous to your health, in particular your heart. If we were to manage to live without air conditioning, would we have to ship the sick and elderly away from their home?

I'm trying to imagine hospitals, office buildings and high tech facilites without air conditioning. No one would work there.

I could even venture a guess that it air conditioning went away, vast areas would experience an exodus, leaving those remaining in third world conditions. We would all have to move to Canada, and use more resources to keep warm.

There's a difference between wasting resources and using them. Over the years, every appliance that has been replaced in my home as been a much more efficient model. As I said before, our new AC system uses less power to cool a much larger space much more comfortably and efficiently. Today, I'm using so much less power than someone would have 20 years ago, and experiencing such a greater quality of life. In turn, I'm giving back so much more to my community because I can actually physically be here.

As you must realize by now, I know nothing about politics....what is it that these opponants want us to do....? How and where do they want humans to live?

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i'd say we need "siesta time" .
when we were in south-america earlier this year even in buenos aires and rio "siesta" seemed to be the rule for small business .
while the large stores did stay open , most of the small businesses shut down at about 1 o'clock - to reopen at about 4 .
i guess in north-america business people are worried that they might loose customers but in south-america that does not seem to be much of a concern . things run at a different pace .
hbg

http://web.quipo.it/moresonline/immagini/carnev2003/la%20siesta.JPG

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Praise the man who invented air conditioning

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