Willis Haviland Carrier, the founder of Carrier Corporation is the father of modern day air conditioning. In 1902, he invented the first modern air conditioning unit. Carrier was a skilled engineer, and began experimenting with the laws of humidity control at his Brooklyn plant. Although various forms of artificial cooling were invented and discovered years before Carrier, we owe our modern day air conditioning to his invention. The air conditioner is a technological marvel. Today, all businesses and a large number of homes depend on air conditioning to make their summers more bearable.
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| Air Conditioning |
The ease of use
Almost every household relates to air-conditioning with a flip of a switch, and a low hum of a motor. However, air conditioners are complex electro mechanics at play. Air conditioners are a complex amalgamation of engineering advances in cooling, controls, thermodynamics, and energy efficiency. It is still one of mankind’s greatest creations that, in the year 2000, air conditioning and refrigeration was listed among the top 10 of the greatest mechanical engineering achievements of the 20th century. Today’s air conditioning units still use the concept of Carrier’s invention. However, with advances in vapor compression, electronic sensors, energy efficiency, diagnostics and controls, today’s air conditioning units have come a long way.
Some historical facts on air conditioning are:
- 1902 – Willis Carrier invents the first air conditioning apparatus for treating air. His first invention was for Sackett-Wilhelm’s Lithographing and Publishing Company in Brooklyn, New York.
- 1906 – Textile mill engineer, Stuart Cramer, creates a ventilating device that adds water vapor to the air of textile plants. His invention made yarn easier to spin and stronger.
- 1914 – The first household air conditioner is made. Charles Gates’ mansion consisted of this first ever unit. This unit measured 7 feet high, 6 feet wide and 20 feet long.
- 1931 – H.H. Schultz and J.Q. Sherman invent the first ever window air conditioning unit.
- 1939 – The first air conditioning car is invented.
- 1942 – The first ever “summer peaking” power plant is made in the United States to handle the growing electrical load of air conditioners.
- 1953 – More than 1 million household air conditioning units sold.
- 1970s – Central air conditioning gains popularity.
- 1994 – Freon becomes linked to ozone layer depletion. Stringent laws force auto manufacturers to switch to less harmful refrigerants.
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| Air-Conditioning System |
Ever wondered how air conditioning really works?
Air conditioner works by moving the heat from inside your home to the outside, thereby cooling your home. The air is cooled when the air moves over a set of cold pipes. These cold pipes are called evaporator coils. The evaporator coil works on the same principle as sweating. Our body cools when the sweat evaporates from our skin. Air conditioners work on a similar principle. The evaporator coil consists of a refrigerant. Freon was used as refrigerant before its involvement with ozone depletion was established. The refrigerant changes from liquid to gas, as it absorbs the heat from the air. The gaseous refrigerant now moves to the outer coils called the condenser, where the absorbed heat is released. This release converts the gaseous refrigerant back to liquid, and this liquid is cycled back in. The process is repeated. The role of a compressor is to control the movement of the refrigerant and maintain its pressure within the appropriate coils. Failure in any of the processes will not result in cooling.
As air conditioning gets more popular and in some places even a necessity, it has become highly important to care for the air conditioning units we use. Better the care better the efficiency. As the world becomes more energy aware, we see many more units being sold for being energy efficient.
There are many factors to consider, before you buy the air-conditioning. You can search from the online portals to get an idea about the types and cost of the air-conditioning system.
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