Below are seven things you probably didn’t know about your AC! They don’t change how you cool your house so in that sense they are semi-useless but still fun to know just the same
- One of the earliest known attempts at “air conditioning” came about more than 500 years ago in Persia, where engineers built wind towers rigged with wind scoops to catch prevailing breezes. Internal vanes then circulated the cool air throughout local buildings.
- The term “air conditioning” originated in 1906 when a North Carolina textile manufacturer used the phrase to describe a technology that improved the quality of the cloth made in his plant.
- The development of air conditioning was one of the biggest boosts to the fledgling movie industry, which marketed film houses as refrigerated escapes from the grueling summer heat.
- Architecture was greatly affected by the widespread use of air conditioning, as high ceilings, sleeping porches, and other more costly features were effectively done away with. Modern high-rise buildings and skyscrapers would not be possible without the use of air conditioning.
- Since 1960, almost two-thirds of America’s economic growth can be attributed to development in the south and southwest of the country – development that would be almost impossible without year-round climate control and hot weather AC.
- Many of the most incredible technological advances we enjoy – from computers and data storage centers to the manufacture, delivery and storage of food and medicine – would not be possible without the use of air conditioning.
- The amount of energy the United States uses each year to power air conditioning units is about the same amount of energy consumed by the entire continent of Africa.