The History of Air Conditioning: How Your Descendants Stayed Cool

On those really hot days when you can’t imagine being out of an air conditioned home or office, aren’t you happy to live in the 21st century? Luckily, your descendants and those before had all types of inventive ways to keep cool. And all of that clever thinking eventually led to the development of the air conditioning that you enjoy today!

Let’s get started with a brief, yet surprisingly fascinating history of air conditioning.

The Fascinating History of Air Conditioning

Underground Homes

The cave dwellers found that it was cooler underground and inside the Earth. They built homes in caves to get themselves out of the hot sun. Although this was around 12,000 years ago, the cave dwellers knew what they were doing. (Today we call this geothermal cooling, and it’s highly efficient and green!)

First Water-Cooled AC

Fast forward to the days of the Egyptians, when the first water-cooled air conditioner was discovered. The Egyptians worked hard in the Nile River valley, so they needed ways to keep cool. They succeeded by hanging wet reeds in the windows to cool off the breezes that came through.

Discovery of Central AC

The Ancient Greeks and Romans moved things along by crafting the concept of central air conditioning. The Greeks used water piped from water source channels, and the Romans developed a hypocaust system. In fact, the spaces underneath their tiled and stone floors carried warm air similar to how our modern ducts in our home pass warmed air to heat our homes!

Fans and Cooling Towers

The Chinese invented the first fans. They’ve become a staple for easily keeping cool and comfortable, and they are even included in today’s AC units. Then, the Middle Eastern architects impressed everyone by inventing cooling towers to catch and circulate cool breezes. Interestingly, cooling towers are still used today for large buildings.

Air Flow in Homes

In the Victorian era, homes were smartly built with comfort in mind. Victorian homes had tall ceilings (heat naturally rises, keeping those inside cooler), large windows for cross ventilation and covered porches. What the Victorians taught future generations is that air flow plays a large role in how cool and comfortable the home is. This is still a major factory today.

An Accidental Discovery

Even with all of these advancements, the modern-day AC unit still hadn’t been discovered. That is, until an American accidentally created it. Willis Carrier was trying to remove humidity from the air in a publishing business office. The purpose was not temperature related. It was to encourage the ink to dry faster and prevent the paper from getting damp. The rest, they say, is history.

We all appreciate air conditioning on a hot, humid day. You can thank your grandparents and great-grandparents for paving the way for powerful, efficient AC units that keep your home cool and comfortable!

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