Hallelujah for air conditioners and heating systems! We’re lucky to have access to cold and hot air systems, but did you know how it all started or how much it has changed over the years?

Here are a few interesting and quirky facts about air conditioners:

  1. Before air conditioners were introduced people used to keep cool with large blocks of ice. When air conditioners first arrived in 1902 they were rated by how much ice would be needed to get the same cooling effect. We now call them AC units
  2. Willis H Carrier invented the first modern air conditioner in 1902 for a publishing company in New York because of their humidity problems with control and paper expansion.
  3. Movie Theaters were among the first (public) places to have air conditioning, this would get more people into the theatres as it was literally the coolest place to be.
  4. Apparently, air conditioners have altered our tolerance for the heat. A hot summer’s day feels a lot hotter than it actually is compared to people generations ago.
  5. The first president of the White House to have air conditioning was Herbert Hoover who spent $30,000 to have it installed to keep himself cool in the oval office.
  6. The first fully air-conditioned home was built by Charles Gates in a mansion in Minneapolis in 1913, he died before he could ever experience it.
  7. The first car with optional Air Conditioning was introduced in 1939 by the automobile manufacturer Packard.
  8. If you wanted to buy a basic AC unit in the 1940’s, it would cost you approximately $350.
  9. Before air conditioning was created, schools and industries would slow down or take complete summer breaks to avoid working in the heat.
  10. Studies show that humans who grow accustomed to living in a cool, air-conditioned environment lose their natural tolerance for heat.

Air conditioners have definitely helped with a hot summer’s day and have made workplaces and facilities a more productive place to work and learn. Here’s to all who pioneered for cool air for all!

Mathiou Services may not have invented air conditioning services but we sure do know how to install and fix them. Contact us at 1300 363 423 to get yours serviced or installed today.