How Air Conditioning Changed The World

The first modern electrical air conditioner was invented in 1902 in Buffalo, New York by a 26-year-old engineer who was tasked with decreasing paper-wasting humidity issues at a local publishing company. Now, more than a century later, we take it for granted. The air conditioner ranks as one of the most important modern inventions in history, allowing for climate control of homes and businesses. it’s hard to imagine our homes and business without it, especially when the summer weather is in full force.
Like the early editions, modern air conditioners use refrigeration to cool indoor air by forcing special chemical compounds to evaporate and condense repeatedly in an enclosed system of coils. The compounds used are gaseous refrigerants that have unique properties that allow them to change at low temperatures. Fans in air conditioners move warm interior air over the cold, refrigerant-filled coils, producing climate-controlled air. Central air conditioners feature a system of ducts that funnel the hot air to and the cold air from these serpentine, air-chilling coils and throughout the house.
The American public first marveled at air conditioning at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. In the 1920s, Americans were amazed by movie theaters that were cooled with air conditioning systems, allowing them to experience Hollywood’s Golden Age in cool comfort. But air conditioning units remained too large and expensive for public consumption until the late 1940s, when inexpensive models of residential air conditioners finally became available. As the 1960s came to a close, many new homes were built with central air conditioning and more older homes were outfitted with affordable window A/C units. This helped spark population expansion in hot-weather states such as Arizona, Florida, Nevada and Texas. According to a 2015 report by the Energy Information Administration, air conditioning is used in nearly 100 million American homes, a staggering 87% of all American households. Since 2000, 95% of new homes constructed featured central air conditioning.
Sanborns is proud of its place in the rich heritage of the air conditioning industry. Call us today for all your air conditioning needs.