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 Electro-mechanical 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.
Attempts to control indoor temperatures began in ancient Rome, where wealthy citizens took advantage of the remarkable aqueduct system to circulate cool water through the walls of their homes. The emperor Elagabalus took things a step further in the third century, building a mountain of snow—imported from the mountains via donkey trains—in the garden next to his villa to keep cool during the summer. Marvelously inefficient, the effort presaged the spare-no-cost attitude behind our modern-day central air-conditioning systems. Even back then some scoffed at the concept of fighting heat with newfangled technologies. Seneca, the stoic philosopher, mocked the "skinny youths" who ate snow to keep cool rather than simply bearing the heat like a real Roman ought to.
It's not an exaggeration to say that Carrier's innovation shaped 20th-century America. In the 1930s, air conditioning spread to department stores, rail cars, and offices, sending workers' summer productivity soaring. Until then, central courtyards and wide-open windows had offered the only relief. Residential air conditioning was slower to take hold: As late as 1965, just 10 percent of U.S. homes had it, according to the Carrier Corporation. By 2007, however, the number was 86 percent. As cool air spread across the country, Sun Belt cities that had been unbearable in the summer became more attractive places to live and work, facilitating a long-term shift in U.S. population.
Smart Technologies
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.
Attempts to control indoor temperatures began in ancient Rome, where wealthy citizens took advantage of the remarkable aqueduct system to circulate cool water through the walls of their homes. The emperor Elagabalus took things a step further in the third century, building a mountain of snow—imported from the mountains via donkey trains—in the garden next to his villa to keep cool during the summer. Marvelously inefficient, the effort presaged the spare-no-cost attitude behind our modern-day central air-conditioning systems. Even back then some scoffed at the concept of fighting heat with newfangled technologies. Seneca, the stoic philosopher, mocked the "skinny youths" who ate snow to keep cool rather than simply bearing the heat like a real Roman ought to.
It's not an exaggeration to say that Carrier's innovation shaped 20th-century America. In the 1930s, air conditioning spread to department stores, rail cars, and offices, sending workers' summer productivity soaring. Until then, central courtyards and wide-open windows had offered the only relief. Residential air conditioning was slower to take hold: As late as 1965, just 10 percent of U.S. homes had it, according to the Carrier Corporation. By 2007, however, the number was 86 percent. As cool air spread across the country, Sun Belt cities that had been unbearable in the summer became more attractive places to live and work, facilitating a long-term shift in U.S. population.
Smart Technologies
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.
