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History of air conditioning

If you think that the fight against heat and the use of environmental cooling systems are relatively modern things, perhaps the beginning of this article will surprise you greatly. Let's start by describing the history of air conditioning talking, neither more nor less, than the ancient Egyptians. That is, thousands of years ago.

Fighting the heat in ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians already used certain methods that mainly allowed the pharaohs to enjoy pleasant temperatures, reducing the heat of their rooms. The walls of the pharaoh's palace were made up of large blocks of stone, blocks weighing more than 1000 tons.

How did the Egyptians cool down the pharaoh's palace?

Well, when night fell, thousands of slaves were in charge of dismantling the walls to transport the stones to the Sahara desert . There, the temperatures during the night were very low, due to the extreme desert climate.Thus, the stones cooled very quickly and before dawn they were taken back to the palace and placed in their place. In this way, during the day the pharaoh could enjoy temperatures close to 26 ºC. Temperature much lower than the outside temperature, which was almost double.


The principle of air conditioning

This moment is often overlooked. In 1842, a certain Lord Kelvin invented what could be considered the principle of air conditioning .This scientist worked on a system that would allow a pleasant environment to be achieved , creating an airtight refrigeration system that, through a refrigerant gas, was capable of absorbing heat from the environment.

On what principles was this invention based?

Specifically, this first equipment related to air conditioning was based on 3 principles:

The heat is always transmitted from areas of higher heat until less . For example, if you put a spoon in a hot coffee, the heat will go from the coffee to the spoon, which is why it heats up.

When a liquid turns into a gas it absorbs heat . This can easily be seen in your own home. If you put a little alcohol on your hand, when it evaporates you will feel a little cold in that hand. This is because it absorbs heat.

Temperature and pressure are not alien things, they are related . So in closed containers, it takes less heat to reach the same temperature. Take, for example, a pot in your kitchen. When closed, its contents heat up faster than when open.

Beginning of modern refrigeration

It is at this time that the origin of air conditioning is often located. At least as we think of it today. We are talking about the beginning of the 20th century, specifically the year 1902 .In this year, an American, Willis Haviland Carrier , began to lay the foundations of today's refrigeration. In principle, it began to develop its technology to solve problems derived from excessive humidification of the air that was cooled, creating and developing the concept of summer air conditioning .

It all started because Carrier wanted to help an entrepreneur in the printing industry who worked in Brooklyn, New York. This businessman encountered many complications during his printing processes, since the continuous changes in temperature and humidity in the environment caused the dimensions of the paper he used to change slightly. The consequence of this problem was that the inks were not aligned correctly, causing very poor print quality.

From here, Carrier began to investigate possible ways to solve the problem posed. And it didn't take long for him to design a machine capable of controlling ambient humidity and temperature through a series of cooled tubes. This can be considered the first air conditioning machine.

Thus, this machine solved the printer's problem, allowing him to print 4 inks easily. This invention was patented in 1906 as an apparatus to treat the air, since the concept of air conditioning was not used until the engineer Stuart H. Cramer patented an equipment that expelled water vapor in the textile industries, which allowed to condition the thread. In this sector, the textile, was where Carrier's invention also began to be used.

An important moment occurred in 1911 , in which Carrier decided to reveal the formula used to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. To this day, this formula remains the basis for any important calculation related to the air conditioning industry.From here, many other industrial sectors began to use the invention of Carrier, since great improvements in the quality of their products were obtained. We speak, for example, of the tobacco sector, films, processed meats, etc.

When was the first air conditioning company born?

It was in 1915 that Carrier, along with several engineering partners, created the Carrier Engineering Company . Company dedicated exclusively to air conditioning and very focused on research and technological innovation of this product, especially applied to the industrial sector.A little later, in 1921, Carrier himself patented a centrifugal refrigeration machine , which was the first invention that allowed large spaces to be cooled.

When was the first home air conditioner developed?

It was in 1928. The same engineer developed the first equipment dedicated to cooling and heating homes . An invention that ended up colliding with the great economic depression in the United States, which made its sales not meet the expectations created.

It was after World War II that these household appliances began to spread throughout the United States and around the world. Today there are companies like Mitsubishi Electric that continue to innovate continuously to design increasingly advanced and more efficient equipment in the use of energy.

Thanks to all these innovations, a series of equipment has arrived to our days that allow us to enjoy the best environment at any time of the year and without which we would really enjoy many circumstances.


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