Fun HVAC Facts

Fun HVAC Facts

HVAC systems have come a long way since their invention ages ago. The units have some interesting stories you might want to read while relaxing. Here are some fun facts you probably didn't know about HVAC systems.

Air conditioning

• Willis Carrier invented the first contemporary HVAC system in 1902. He intended to help lower the temperatures and humidity for a publishing firm in New York and hoped to protect the papers from expanding and contracting.
• Charles Gate of Denver, Co., first installed the domestic AC in 1914 in a Minneapolis home. However, no one used it since no one ever resided in the house.
• The first businesses to install air conditioning units were movie theatres in the 1920s.
• Alice Parker of Morristown, NJ, was the first to receive a patent for an air conditioning system in 1919.
• A North Carolina textile manufacturer came up with the term "air conditioning" after seeing how much the technology improved the condition and quality of the cloth produced in his plant.
• The modern air conditioning concept was first conceived in 1920 by Michael Faraday after discovering that compressed and liquefied ammonia, when allowed to evaporate, could chill air.

Air ventilation

• Window air conditioners cost about $350 in the 1940s. That is roughly $3500 in today's value.
• John Gorrie is considered the founder of refrigeration and air conditioning after inventing the ice-making machine to provide cold air for his patients. He later envisioned his ice-making equipment being used to cool homes and buildings. Gorrie then received a patent in 1851 but died a pauper in 1855.
• The first president to experience air conditioning in the white house was Herbert Hoover. He spent 30000 dollars to install the unit in The Oval Office, right after The Great Depression had started.

Heating

• The Romans were the first to design heated floors. They did so by laying stones over a source of heat in the ground.
• The first popular items people used to stay cool were hand fans. Electric fans later took over in the US as the more efficient alternative in the early 1900s.
• The invention of HVAC systems significantly impacted the architectural industry. Before air conditioners, architects designed buildings and homes with breezeways, high ceilings, and shady landscaping to reduce heat and keep inhabitants cool.
• Studies show that the use of air conditioning significantly lowers your natural tolerance for heat.
• Government offices shut down too alongside schools during summer, before the invention of air conditioning systems.

We hope the above HVAC fun facts broaden your knowledge of the AC systems. If you have any questions regarding your heating, air conditioning, and air ventilation systems, please contact Command Service Center for help.