Air Conditioning

Dr. John Gorrie of Appalachicola, Florida invented mechanical refrigeration, patenting his ice making device on May 6, 1851. Gorrie sought to raise money to manufacture his cooling machine, but the venture failed when his partner died. There is a statue, which honors this "Father of Modern Day Air Conditioning" in the Statuary Hall of the capitol building in Washington, DC.

Schematic of Gorrie's ice machine.

American engineer Willis Carrier (November 26, 1876 – October 7, 1950) invented the first electric air conditioning unit after he was commissioned to come up with the design by the printing company Buffalo Forge Company whose work was being wrecked by humidity in the factory. He was awarded a patent for his appliance on January 2, 1902. The installation marked the birth of air conditioning because of the addition of humidity control.

Willis Carrier in 1915

New York’s four biggest post-war skyscrapers were equipped with Carrier's systems in the early Fifties.

The Milam Building in San Antonio, Texas, was the first high-rise air-conditioned office building in the United States when it opened in January 1928. The system provided 300 tons of refrigeration capacity with chilled water, piped to air-handling fans serving all floors.

Air conditioners in cars were introduced in Chicago by Packard Motor Company in 1939.

The Southdale Center in Edina, Minnesota opened its doors on October 8, 1956. It was the first mall in the United States to feature a fully enclosed design with a central air conditioning system.

In 1979, The New York Times printed Frank Lloyd Wright's views on air conditioning from his 1954 book The Natural House. He was not a fan, calling it a "dangerous circumstance."

According to a 2021 study by the U.S. Census Bureau, 88% of households in the United States have air conditioning, while only 20% of households in Europe do. There are a few reasons for this difference. First, the climate in the United States is generally warmer than the climate in Europe. This means that Americans are more likely to need air conditioning to stay cool in the summer.

Second, the cost of air conditioning is relatively low in the United States. This is due to a number of factors, including the availability of cheap natural gas and the fact that there are many manufacturers of air conditioners in the United States. Third, there is a cultural difference in the way that Americans and Europeans view air conditioning. In the United States, air conditioning is seen as a necessity, while in Europe, it is often seen as a luxury.

Iranians still use the ancient form of air conditioning called the badgir. It is a tower with vents on top and allows cool air to accelerate down into a building.

According to the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), about 70% of Saudi Arabia's electricity consumption is used exclusively for air conditioning. This is due to the hot climate in Saudi Arabia, where temperatures can reach up to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer.

A modern example of utilizing wind catchers and other “green technology” for public buildings can be found at Zion National Park Visitors Center (ZNPVC) in Utah.

UPS trucks don't come with air conditioning which is why they drive with open doors.

Air-conditioning in casinos is oxygen enriched to help players stay alert and gamble longer.

Air conditioning consumed 5% of all U.S. electricity during the summer of 2015—that's two tons of CO2 per house per year.

The US military spends about $20 billion (£12.5 billion) a year just to air-condition its bases in Afghanistan and Iraq,