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Air conditioning as we know it was invented in 1902 by an electrical engineer by the name of Willis Haviland Carrier. Like most inventions, it was born of necessity; there was a problem with excessive humidity at the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company, where Carrier worked at the time. Especially during the hot, humid Brooklyn summer, the paper produced at Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publiching Company would absorb so much moisture that it couldn't retain any of the ink applied to it. Carrier realized that cooler air carries less moisture than its warm counterpart and soon figured out that he could make the building much less humid by blowing the air inside the building across chilled pipes. He also realized that cooling down the office not only fixed the moisture problem, it also made the building much more comfortable. As such, air conditioning was born! It quickly became obvious to Carrier that he had invented something far larger than merely a way to help ink stick to paper, and soon, his new system rapidly spread throughout the country. Now that you know a little more about the history behind air conditioning, it is time to explain a little bit about how this contraption works. As you may have guessed, it has changed pretty drastically in the last one hundred years or so. Interestingly enough, today's model functions much like a refrigerator, as they both are cooling devices. Put simply, the system works by forcing chemicals to evaporate and then condense repeatedly over a system of coils. The chemicals used are called refrigerants and they have changed significantly in recent years as the environment has become a more pressing concern. Previously, refrigerants contained chlorine atoms, which we now know can damage the ozone layer. The function of cooling air takes place as a result of two different functions cycling back and forth: first, the refrigerant works to chill the air indoors thus producing a gas, then the resulting gas is compressed and cools down so it can be converted back to the refrigerant liquid that is recycled through to to chill the indoors again. There are several types of air conditioners, such as window units, split systems, and chilled water systems. Window units are installed into a window and usually are used to cool a single room. They typically run on electricity and are often simply plugged into an electrical outlet near the window. These models are typically the less expensive option. The other type of system is called a split-system. This type of system is typically used on larger homes and areas than window units and is physically much larger. A chilled water system is typically used for very large spaces and can cool very large areas. It functions by piping chilled water through insulated pipes in a building. Hoping to avoid the summer heat this year in MontgomeryAL? Air Conditioning experts at Hans Heating & Air Conditioning are here to help cool you down. Learn more about our offers and services at http://www.hansheatingandair.com.
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