Thanks, Willis Carrier: He Was One Very Cool Dude
Who Invented the Air Conditioner?
When you think about it, there have been some truly genius inventions over time. These would appear to be that of the computer, radio, cell phone, television, microwave oven, and the air conditioner. All of these brilliant creations changed the way we look at the world and how we go about everyday life. Willis Carrier was literally sweating it out and earning a tiny $10 a week at a Brooklyn, New York printing plant in 1902, when a light bulb went off in his young, swiftly intelligent head.

Durham, NC Old book

The Modern Air Conditioner is Born
Mr. Carrier was a very bright, college graduate with a masters in engineering, received after just one year at Cornell University. He decided to begin work at the Buffalo Forge Company. He figured that evaporated water would be the precise way to cool off a sweltering space. Thus, he developed the first modern air conditioner to improve the hot and humid air inside the printing plant. Mr. Carrier noted that the sweltering heat and moist air were cause for the misalignment of ink on the shifting printing paper dimensions. The air conditioner he invented was able to remedy the multi-color alignment and make the work space comfortable for employees.

Residential Air Conditioning Blossoms in the 1920s
Mr. Carrier’s smart thinking for cooling industrial spaces started to gain popularity, and soon residents wanted the same cooling concept for their homes. Residential air cooling was established in 1928 for those who could afford it. Mr. Carrier had launched the “Weathermaker.” This major breakthrough changed life forever for those who lived in hot, humid regions of the country. Mr. Carrier’s amazing invention helped enable the great migration to the Sun Belt in the United States. That would includes states like California, Arizona, Texas, Mississippi, Florida and South Carolina, for example.

Window Units Give Birth to Central Air Systems
Mr. Carrier would certainly be amazed at the incredible innovation that has spawned from his 1902 invention. Air conditioning window units later morphed into sophisticated central air conditioners, and the technology continues advancing. Central air is all about efficiency. There are programmable thermostats, systems that divide Durham homes into separately controlled zones and some that are ductless providing pinpoint control with less noise.

Would life have ever been the same without Willis Carrier’s invention?

It’s hard to even comprehend.

Interested in taking a closer look at your Durham, NC HVAC system? Call Green Horizon today at (919) 323-8705 today.