The East Coast is a great place to call home, but muggy, humid Summers don’t usually make the list of reasons why. Necessity is the mother of invention, however, as the saying goes, and it was our hot, steamy conditions that helped Willis Haviland Carrier change the world, and earn the moniker, “Father of Modern HVAC”. In the spirit of Independence Day, this July we at Climate Care would like to present: A brief history of HVAC!
These days, we take our perfectly chilled environments for granted. But a flip of a switch wasn’t always the way. In fact, only since the middle of the 20th Century have we been able to relax indoors during the hot Connecticut Summer. The modern HVAC and climate control we enjoy today began in Brooklyn, in the early 1920’s, when an American engineer, and Cornell grad, Willis Carrier was hired by Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographic and Publishing Company to come up with a solution to help dehumidify the area around their printing machines. The East Coast steam was ruining their paper, causing their ink to run, and pretty much bringing production to a screeching halt. Initially, there was no goal to cool people down. In fact, at that time, many people held the belief that humans messing with the modification of external conditions went “against God’s will.” But, business is business, and business was disrupted. So, Carrier worked to create an industrial fan that blew air over steam coils filled with cold water. The humidity would condense on the coils, and the result was dry, cooled air. Imagine the light bulb over Carrier’s head when he realized the system didn’t just cool and dry off the paper, it cooled and dried off the employees, too!
Energized, and more productive in his cool, dry state, Carrier submitted drawings for what would become the first modern air-conditioner, and created a new standard, which stated that a true air-conditioner would control temperature, humidity, air circulation and ventilation, while cleansing the air (all standards the solutions at Climate Care still uphold today!)
Many significant events came between Carrier and his vision to bring air-conditioning to the masses. World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II, all had their effect. Still, the ability to maintain a high level of productivity all year long revolutionized American life and migration across the country. And, eventually, the 1950s post-war boom would have HVAC systems become staples in the American home. And we at Climate Care are sure glad!
If you’re up for a little historical vacay, you can see Carrier’s first practical centrifugal refrigeration compressor from 1922 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. If you want to see how far Carrier’s vision has come, you can give us a call! Climate Care offers a full range of state-of-the-art HVAC equipment and services, including cutting edge Indoor Air Quality solutions, such as Filtration, UV lights, and ERV systems, to make sure the air you breathe is free of mold, mildew, allergens, and other unhealthy particulates. Willis Haviland Carrier would be so proud.
Visit our website at www.climatecarect.com or call 203-769-9758 to schedule an appointment. With over 12 years of experience in all aspects of HVAC, Climate Care is local to Connecticut, and offer our services to Bridgeport, Cos Cob, Darien, Easton, East Haven, Fairfield, Georgetown, Greens Farms, Greenwich, Hamden, New Haven, New Canaan, Norwalk, Westport, Milford, Monroe, Old Greenwich, Riverside, Shelton, Southport, Stamford, Stratford, Trumbull, Weston, and Wilton.
Happy birthday, and stay cool, America!
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