As summer approaches, bringing with it soaring temperatures and unbearable humidity, millions of people will turn on that marvel of discovery and invention – the air conditioner. These comfort units that homeowners activate with the ease of flipping a switch are  complex electromechanical systems, the end products of nearly a century of engineering development in cooling, thermodynamics, controls, and energy efficiency. In 2000, air conditioning/refrigeration was named among the 10 greatest mechanical engineering achievements of the 20th century, according to a survey of ASME members. Air conditioning actually has roots in second century China, where an inventor named Ding Huane crafted a manually powered rotary fan. The concept of air cooling also intrigued the great American inventor and statesman Benjamin Franklin, who in 1758 conducted experiments with evaporation and alcohol to attain freezing temperatures. Willis Carrier: The Father of the Air Conditioner The first modern air conditioner was invented in 1902 by Willis Haviland Carrier, a skilled engineer who began experimenting with the laws of humidity control to solve an application problem at a printing plant in Brooklyn, NY.

Borrowing from the concepts of mechanical refrigeration established in earlier years, Carrier’s system sent air through coils filled with cold water, cooling the air while at the same time removing moisture to control room humidity. what to do when inside ac unit freezes upIn 1933, the Carrier Air Conditioning Company of America developed an air conditioner using a belt-driven condensing unit and associated blower, mechanical controls, and evaporator coil, and this device became the model in the growing U.S. marketplace for air-cooling systems.how to clean air handling unit Today’s air conditioners, while operating on the same fundamental science as Carrier’s 1933 system, incorporate advancements in vapor compression, diagnostics and controls, electronic sensors, materials, and energy efficiency. why does an ac unit ice up

Carrier’s new top-of-the line central air conditioner, the Infinity, is far different than the founder’s early models, featuring advanced components including a two-stage scroll compressor for quieter, more energy-efficient performance. Energy efficiency standards set by the U.S. Department of Energy are driving improvements in air-conditioning systems. “Minimum efficiency standards for a/c systems have progressively increased, particularly in the last five years, requiring manufacturers to optimize systems to reduce energy consumption,” says Dennis Thoren, vice president of engineering and technology at Ingersoll Rand, Davidson, NC, which markets the popular Trane line of air conditioners. To comply with the regulations, air-conditioning manufacturers have successfully increased the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) to 16 or 18, exceeding the DOE’s efficiency standards. Some high-end models like the Lennox XC21 and Trane XL20i, in addition to the Infinity, are rated up to 21 SEER, further aiding the environment while enabling energy cost savings for customers.

In a further effort to reduce energy usage, some air-conditioning manufacturers have begun to stretch the capabilities of the standard wall thermostat, developing sophisticated microprocessor-based diagnostic and control kits that automate the operation of the compressor and air-flow system. The Trane ComfortLink II remote thermostat allows the homeowner to adjust functions and settings on the air conditioner from off-site computers and web-enabled cell phones; ComfortLink will even send text and e-mail alerts on when to replace the filter or arrange routine service inspections. “We are using innovation to put a whole new level of control in the consumer’s hands, in the process reducing home energy consumption,” explains Thoren, a longtime ASME member. He says Trane views the air conditioner as one component in the automated, energy-efficient home of the future. In the next wave of technology development, Ingersoll Rand and other manufacturers will advance smart technologies to interface their systems with the national electric grid, allowing units to be regulated according to geography and changing weather conditions.

Grid interoperability could push air-conditioning research down the pathway of fully variable speed systems, further reducing energy consumption. Today, some 80% of American households have air conditioners, mostly central systems, according to the Energy Information Administration. Air conditioning has grown from a luxury to a necessity and contributed in many ways to the quality of life in America and the industrialized world. In addition to the obvious benefits and enjoyments of comfort cooling, the air conditioner altered architectural design, allowing windowless office buildings and houses without porches. Air conditioning also played a major role in migration patterns and economic development in the U.S., allowing millions of people to live and work and establish businesses in locations known for their hot and steamy climates. Related links: Temperature Control, Detroit Edison School District Heating System, Holly District Heating System, Magma Copper Mine AC, Milam High Rise AC, Thermo King Refrigeration Unit, Refrigeration Research Museum, Commonwealth Building Heat Pump, Holland Tunnel Ventilation System, Icing Research Tunnel at NASA Glenn Research Center, Pullman Sleeping Car Glengyle, McKinley Climatic Laboratory.

Born November 26, 1876, in Angola, N.Y. Received engineering degree from Cornell University in 1901 Designed the world's first modern air conditioning system in 1902 Died October 7, 1950, in New York, N.Y. Named one of TIME magazine's "100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century" in 1998 Willis Carrier designed the first modern air-conditioning system to solve a production problem at the Sackett & Wilhelms printing plant in Brooklyn, New York, launching an industry that would fundamentally improve the way we live, work and play. Willis Carrier applied for a patent on his invention, an "Apparatus for Treating Air," which became patent No. 808897 and was issued on January 2, 1906. Carrier had invented the world's first spray-type air conditioning equipment, able to both wash and humidify or dehumidify air. Modern air conditioning now had its fundamental building block. Willis Carrier's Rational Psychrometric Formulae brought science to what had been the often hit-or-miss design of air-conditioning systems, and in the process made Carrier an international name.

The chart would be updated and reprinted regularly, serving as an essential tool to generations of engineers. 1913 - Willis Carrier developed the Carrier Air Humidifier designed to humidify the air in one room, such as an office or laboratory. It was the first self-contained unit with the fan and motor, eliminator, and sprays all combined into a single, packaged product. The first offices of Carrier Engineering Corporation opened in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and Buffalo. An installation at the Barber Creamery Supply Company in Chicago became Carrier's first air-conditioned dairy. Carrier introduces the first home air conditioner. Carrier sells the first "unit air conditioner," a smaller air conditioning unit designed for retail shops requiring up to 2,500 cfm of air, to Merchants Refrigerating Company for controlling the air in its Newark, N.J., egg storage room. Willis Carrier receives an honorary doctorate from Alfred University in Alfred, N.Y.

Carrier announced that New York City’s four biggest and most modern postwar skyscrapers would soon be air conditioned from top to bottom by Carrier’s Conduit Weathermaster system. On October 7, shortly before his 74th birthday, Willis Carrier died while on a trip to New York City. It was the end of a rich and remarkable life, the close of an era for both an industry and a company, but just the start of an enduring legacy. Carrier helps foster a new idea in retailing — shopping malls. The concept of a group of stores facing inward toward a sheltered court would conserve energy and cut operating costs. Carrier is awarded the principal air conditioning contract for Chicago's 110-floor Sears Tower, which when completed, was the tallest building in the world. The acquisition of Carrier by United Technologies would reshape the global market for heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Three decades of painstaking work highlighted the original colors of Michelangelo's masterpiece in the Sistine Chapel, but also left it exposed to the elements.

Carrier's preservation work included the use of highly accurate humidity-measuring units placed on a ledge about 30 feet above the floor and invisible to visitors. Carrier ceases to manufacturer CFC-based chillers in the U.S., two years before the deadline established by the U.S. Clean Air Act. Willis Carrier is named one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People of the Century." Carrier installed a climate control system to safeguard the Bibliotheca Alexandria’s collections while providing comfort air to a staff of 600 and visitors using more than 700,000 square feet of facilities. Carrier introduced its first CO2 system for commercial refrigeration and today supports more than 300 stores in northern Europe using CO2OLtec™ systems. Carrier secured nearly 70 percent of all heating, ventilating and air-conditioning contracts for venues at the 2008 Beijing Games. Carrier Transicold announced NaturaLINE technology, the container refrigeration industry's first natural refrigerant technology.