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The interesting origins of air conditioning
Posted on 6/9/23 at 1:56 pm
Posted on 6/9/23 at 1:56 pm
The AC temp thread got me thinking about the interesting start to air conditioning.
It was actually developed more as a humidity control play for manufacturing to keep things in tolerance, the workers enjoyed the added benefit of a cooled warehouse.
Unfortunately, it was still insanely expensive for domestic use
So they set out to find other applications besides factories to use the device. Well in the 1920's the Film industry was starting to blossom, but had one problem...The theatres were too hot in the summer with large groups of people in a confined space. And the perfect match was born.
And THAT is why you have the summer blockbuster because movie studios saved their best pictures for the summer when patrons would flock to escape the heat.
It was actually developed more as a humidity control play for manufacturing to keep things in tolerance, the workers enjoyed the added benefit of a cooled warehouse.
quote:
In 1901, American inventor Willis H. Carrier built what is considered the first modern electrical air conditioning unit.In 1902, he installed his first air-conditioning system, in the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing & Publishing Company in Brooklyn, New York; his invention controlled both the temperature and humidity, which helped maintain consistent paper dimensions and ink alignment at the printing plant.
quote:
In 1906, Stuart W. Cramer of Charlotte, North Carolina was exploring ways to add moisture to the air in his textile mill. Cramer coined the term "air conditioning", using it in a patent claim he filed that year as analogous to "water conditioning", then a well-known process for making textiles easier to process. He combined moisture with ventilation to "condition" and change the air in the factories, controlling the humidity so necessary in textile plants. Willis Carrier adopted the term and incorporated it into the name of his company
Unfortunately, it was still insanely expensive for domestic use
quote:
In 1931, H.H. Schultz and J.Q. Sherman developed what would become the most common type of individual room air conditioner: one designed to sit on a window ledge. The units went on sale in 1932 at a considerable price (the equivalent of $120,000 to $600,000 in 2015
So they set out to find other applications besides factories to use the device. Well in the 1920's the Film industry was starting to blossom, but had one problem...The theatres were too hot in the summer with large groups of people in a confined space. And the perfect match was born.
quote:
In 1925, The Rivoli Theater in New York City’s Times Square approached Carrier to install the very first unit. Patrons flocked to see movies in cool comfort
And THAT is why you have the summer blockbuster because movie studios saved their best pictures for the summer when patrons would flock to escape the heat.
10
Posted on 6/9/23 at 1:58 pm to barry
I’ve lived a summer with a broken ac in a rental back some years ago in Metairie. BRUTAL. Makes ya tougher though, and at night with all fans blowing and windows open is peaceful…
Posted on 6/9/23 at 1:58 pm to barry
John Gorrie is responsible for all AC and refrigeration systems.
John Gorrie of Apalachicola, FL
John Gorrie of Apalachicola, FL
This post was edited on 6/9/23 at 1:59 pm
Posted on 6/9/23 at 2:05 pm to barry
Posted on 6/9/23 at 2:10 pm to Honest Tune
I grew up without AC. I can't sleep without a fan going. It's my white noise.
Posted on 6/9/23 at 2:11 pm to Eli Goldfinger
sounds like he really wasn’t
Posted on 6/9/23 at 2:12 pm to barry
quote:
And THAT is why you have the summer blockbuster because movie studios saved their best pictures for the summer when patrons would flock to escape the heat.
"And now you know......the rest of the story."
Cool thread. Literally.
Posted on 6/9/23 at 2:16 pm to VaeVictus
As a kid, we used an attic fan to cool the house until June 1st. On June 1st, we turned on the AC. Not sure why that was our rule other than we were poor. My siblings who graduated in the 80’s did not have AC in their high school. Hard to believe these days.
This post was edited on 6/9/23 at 7:11 pm
Posted on 6/9/23 at 2:37 pm to barry
Sorry baw because of climate change and modernity you will have to live in a clay hut with the rest of your comrades by 2030.
Posted on 6/9/23 at 3:35 pm to Eli Goldfinger
quote:
John Gorrie is responsible for all AC and refrigeration systems.
John Gorrie of Apalachicola, FL
I really like the Forgotten Coast area of Florida and they definitely love them some John Gorrie there.
Posted on 6/9/23 at 3:37 pm to GCTigahs
quote:
My siblings who graduated in the 80’s did not have AC in their high school.
Where was this? We had AC in the 70s in backwater Lafayette
Posted on 6/9/23 at 3:41 pm to mdomingue
my hs was completed in 1970, it was the first high school in the parish to have original construction ac, my dad was a contractor and we always had big school jobs in the summer adding ac to schools
Posted on 6/9/23 at 3:55 pm to 777Tiger
quote:
my hs was completed in 1970, it was the first high school in the parish to have original construction ac, my dad was a contractor and we always had big school jobs in the summer adding ac to schools
I think most of the schools in Lafayette Parish had those motel-style (PTAC) units. I think a lot of those were retrofits. Acadiana High opened in 69, I think it was more commercial-style roof-mounted units because the building was a big box, and not all the classrooms were on an outside wall for a PTAC.
Posted on 6/9/23 at 3:57 pm to GCTigahs
quote:
South MS ‘87
I'm sure things got a bit moist for you siblings
Posted on 6/9/23 at 3:59 pm to S
I remember pulling up a chair and just sitting in front of the window unit.
When hurricane Andrew knocked the power out, after a couple of days, I remember using Gold Bond as my form of air conditioning.
When hurricane Andrew knocked the power out, after a couple of days, I remember using Gold Bond as my form of air conditioning.
This post was edited on 6/9/23 at 4:01 pm
Posted on 6/9/23 at 4:01 pm to Honest Tune
quote:
Makes ya tougher though, and at night with all fans blowing and windows open is peaceful…
Just think: there was a time when people lived in the Deep South without a/c OR fans. I have no idea how they ever slept or even survived.
Posted on 6/9/23 at 4:05 pm to StringedInstruments
you get used to it, the grandparents thread got me thinking, I’d go stay with my grandmother a couple of weeks each summer, no ac, no running water, she’d work me to death during the day, you get to appreciate a shade, a little breeze
Posted on 6/9/23 at 4:06 pm to StringedInstruments
quote:
Just think: there was a time when people lived in the Deep South without a/c OR fans. I have no idea how they ever slept or even survived.
Those people were way tougher than we are.
Posted on 6/9/23 at 4:12 pm to idlewatcher
I’m 41 and grew up in rural Mississippi. Our local elementary school didn’t get air conditioning until I was in 4th grade. This was late 80’s.
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