Air conditioning is the innovation that led to warmer parts of the nation becoming as populated as they are today. Before air conditioning, few people wanted to live where temperatures can regularly reach well beyond 100 degrees Fahrenheit. But who invented air conditioning?
Willis Carrier
Willis Carrier is the inventor of air conditioning. He was born in 1876 in Angola, New York. He graduated in 1900 from Cornell University with an engineering degree. In 1902, the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithography & Publishing Company of Buffalo had an air quality problem that needed to be fixed. In response, Willis Carrier designed the world’s first air conditioning system.
Carrier’s Air Conditioning System
Willis Carrier designed his air conditioning system with four basic functions. These were to control the temperature, control humidity, circulate and ventilate air and improve indoor air quality. It took him until 1906 to refine and test his invention.
In 1911, Willis Carrier shared his paper on air conditioning. The paper was called Rational Psychometric Formulae. He introduced his paper at the American Society of Mechanical Engineer’s annual meeting. The paper explained dew-point temperature, absolute humidity and relative humidity.
Carrier Engineering Corporation
In 1915, Willis Carrier pooled his money with seven other engineers to co-found Carrier Engineering Corporation. The other engineers were Edward Murphy, Ernest Lyle, Irvine Lyle, Alfred Stacey, Logan Lewis, Frank Sanna and Edmund Heckel. The company was based in Newark, New Jersey.
Carrier Global Corporation
Willis Carrier died in 1950, but his company continued on. Carrier Global Corporation is based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It sells heating, air conditioning and ventilating systems around the world. Its products are used in homes, manufacturing facilities and commercial buildings. It has a market cap of about $36 billion and is publicly traded on the NYSE.
Evans Mechanical in Eureka, CA, services Carrier products, along with all other makes and models of HVAC equipment. We repair, install and tune-up heaters and air conditioners. We also install tankless water heaters and provide indoor air quality solutions. Get in touch with us today to schedule an appointment.
