In the early 1900s, Willis Carrier left his original job at Buffalo Forge and formed his own company, named the Carrier Engineering Corporation. During that time, public institutions experienced air conditioning produced from mechanical cooling for the first time in history. Attendants of the St. Louis World’s Fair encountered a pivotal moment when they had a chance to experience the company’s humidity control and air conditioning installation at the Missouri State Building. This building possessed many rooms, including an auditorium with 1,000 seats; it was effectively cooled through air conditioning, marking the first time Americans came to know public cooling.
Mass Production of Commercial Units
Like a wildfire, countless other public institutions grabbed hold of the concept of comfort cooling, especially movie theaters. The Carrier Engineering Corporation produced a system compatible with movie theaters, starting with the Metropolitan Theater in Los Angeles. Carrier’s design was well-suited because the movies were a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s. Later, textile factories, laboratories, and other work or entertainment buildings began adopting air conditioning as well.
The Road to Residential Units
The Carrier Engineering Corporation’s design of the cooling system for public theaters was one of the most advanced technologies produced in the 1900s. However, despite the advancement, the size of the system could not fit inside of a home because it was too large. But like any great invention throughout history, other engineers reformed and continued to modify the concept of mechanical cooling until it was suitable for homes. Frigidaire, for example, produced a split system in 1929 that could have been popular had it not been overly heavy and expensive. But as innovations continued, thirty-two similar and improved prototypes of the system were created by General Electric’s Frank Faust just two years later.
What Will They Think of Next?
The list goes on of the engineers who further improved the design of the air conditioner until they produced what we know today as the modern AC unit. As HVAC knowledge continues to deepen, more inventions will be produced, propelling us into the future of modern air conditioning. While we don’t know what the future holds, Air Integrity HVAC’s technicians have a vast knowledge of what is on the market today, so give us a call!
~Nevaonna Alfred