Air Conditioning, Through the Ages—Part One

Though the phrase “air conditioner” conjures up images of modern electric-powered appliances, the need for indoor temperature control is centuries old. There is evidence to show that the human practice of air conditioning has existed for almost two millennia—here’s a look at the human air conditioning timeline.

The earliest known air conditioner dates to 2nd century China. These air conditioners used one of the devices which would be used in later, more sophisticated versions of ACs—a rotary fan. However, this fan was manually powered, and was designed to force air through a room.

In 3rd century Rome, an unusual system was employed, whereby donkeys hauled ice from mountainous areas to the garden of Emperor Elagabalus, as a contrived means of cooling it off. Romans had previously attempted to circulate cool water from aqueducts through channels within the walls of houses, so the air conditioning via donkeys and ice may have been a step backward!

In medieval times, surprisingly few advances were made in air conditioning. For the most part, medieval humans relied on architecture to provide cooling power, by building rooms with large openings to bring in outside breeze, and placing windows so that minimal sunlight would enter rooms.

The advances in science and medicine in the 19th century beckoned air conditioning technology to come further along. However, there was still some adversity. Florida physician John Gorrie researched why Americans living in the South came down with more cases of yellow fever than their northern counterparts, and concluded that cooling systems were needed for human health in warmer climates. Gorrie created a system that forced air through buckets of ice created by an ice-producing machine, and received a U.S. patent in 1851 for the device. However, Gorrie was unable to find any financial backing for the primitive air conditioner, and the ice industry—still a major player in the home temperature control business—felt threatened by the invention.

During the same time, James Harrison of Australia was able to make a mechanical ice-making machine, independently of Gorrie’s efforts, and found some commercial success. Gorrie died in poverty, but his and Harrison’s efforts, combined with the impending industrial revolution, laid the groundwork for future speedy advances in the quality of indoor air conditioning.

Thus ends what might be called the “prehistoric” days of air conditioning’s history—a far cry from the sophisticated, inexpensive machines we enjoy access to today! Today, AC World’s air conditioners are an end product of many hundreds of years of innovation, hard work, and ingenuity.