The history of the creation of the air conditioner. The first air conditioner was invented by W. Carrier at the beginning of the twentieth century. Interesting facts about air conditioners

29.10.2020

Our distant ancestors guessed that with the exhausting heat it is possible and necessary to fight thousands of years ago. Probably, the first refrigerator can be considered a Neanderthal, who discovered that even on the hottest days, a pleasant coolness reigns in the cave.

When, bending their heads, tourists pass through the narrow corridors carved into the rocks of the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, and find themselves in the burial chamber of the pharaoh, their only salvation from the stuffiness of the dungeon is a small piece of cardboard, prudently given by the clerk of the underground museum at the entrance. The tomb builders, whose light source was an oil lamp, had to suffer even more from suffocation. Therefore, above the entrance to the tombs, they depicted the goddess Maat, whose wings were supposed to bring a breath of fresh wind to the pharaoh. These images are jokingly called drawings of the first air conditioners.

The inhabitants of ancient India laid grass mats soaked in water on the windowsills of their homes. Evaporating, the water cooled the air entering the room. So long before the advent of household appliances, a person found a way to increase comfort in his home.

It is curious that the principle of air cooling by evaporation of moisture, which is the basis of air conditioning, is also implemented in living nature. The camel was recently found to be the "living conditioner". The mucus produced in his nose moisturizes the dry desert air that enters his lungs. However, when an animal exhales, unlike a person, this moisture is again filtered in the nose and remains in the camel's body. The air exhaled by a camel is sometimes 9 ° C cooler than the surrounding air, while the exhalation of a person has the same temperature as his body. In order to somehow escape the heat, the rulers of antiquity surrounded their palaces with shady gardens and ponds, filled the basements with ice, and servants armed with fans created a refreshing movement of air. And up to the middle of the 18th century, nothing better than the boy "arap" did not come up with.

However, the technological revolution that began in the century before last very quickly turned people's ideas about the climate. The modern concept of "air conditioning" (from the English air - condition - "air condition") as a designation for a device for maintaining a given temperature in a room has existed for a long time. Interestingly, the word air conditioning was first spoken aloud back in 1815. It was then that the Frenchman Jeanne Chabannes received a British patent for a method of "air conditioning and temperature control in homes and other buildings." However, the practical implementation of the idea had to wait long enough. It wasn't until 1902 that Willis Carrier, an American engineer and inventor, assembled an industrial refrigeration machine for a Brooklyn printing house in New York. The most curious thing is that the first air conditioner was not intended to create pleasant coolness for workers, but to combat humidity, which greatly deteriorated print quality ...

True, a year later, the aristocracy of Europe, visiting Cologne, considered it their duty to visit the local theater. Moreover, not only (and not so much) the performance of the troupe aroused a keen interest of the public, but a pleasant chill that reigned in the auditorium even in the hottest months. And when in 1924 the air conditioning system was installed in one of Detroit's department stores, the influx of onlookers was simply breathtaking. It was time to introduce an entrance fee, however, the enterprising owner did not remain at a loss. These first units were the ancestors of modern central air conditioning systems.

The "fossil" ancestor of all modern split systems and windows can be considered the first room air conditioner, released by General Electric back in 1929. Since ammonia was used as a refrigerant in this device, the vapors of which are unsafe for human health, the compressor and condenser of the air conditioner were taken outside. That is, in essence, this device was a real split system! However, since 1931, when freon, safe for the human body, was synthesized, the designers considered it good to collect all the components and assemblies of the air conditioner in one case. This is how the first window air conditioners appeared, the distant descendants of which work successfully today. Moreover, in the USA, Latin America, the Middle East, as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong, as well as India and most African countries, window sills are still the most popular type of air conditioner. The reasons for their success are obvious: they are about half the price of split systems of similar power, and their installation does not require special skills and expensive tools. The latter is especially important far from the centers of civilization, where it is easier to catch Bigfoot than to find a citizen familiar with the installation of refrigeration equipment.

For a long time, the leadership in the field of the latest developments in ventilation and air conditioning belonged to American companies, however, in the late 50s and early 60s, the initiative firmly passed to the Japanese. In the future, it was they who determined the face of the modern climate industry.

So in 1958, the Japanese company Daikin proposed the first heat pump, thereby teaching air conditioners to work on heat.

And three years later, an event occurred that largely predetermined the further development of domestic and semi-industrial air conditioning systems. This is the beginning of the mass production of split systems. Since 1961, when the Japanese company Toshiba first launched mass production of an air conditioner divided into two units, the popularity of this type of HVAC equipment has grown steadily. Due to the fact that the noisiest part of the air conditioner - the compressor - is now taken out into the street, the rooms equipped with split systems are much quieter than in the rooms where windows work. The sound intensity has been reduced by an order of magnitude! The second huge plus is the ability to place the indoor unit of the split system in any convenient place.

Today, many different types of internal devices are produced: wall-mounted, sub-ceiling, floor-standing and recessed into a false ceiling - cassette and duct. This is important not only in terms of design - different types of indoor units allow creating the most optimal distribution of cooled air in rooms of a certain shape and purpose.

And in 1968, an air conditioner appeared on the market, in which several internal ones worked with one external unit. This is how multisplit systems appeared. Today they can include from two to six indoor units of various types.

A significant innovation was the appearance of an inverter-type air conditioner. In 1981, Toshiba offered the first split-system capable of smoothly regulating its power, and already in 1998, inverters occupied 95% of the Japanese market.

And finally, the last of the most popular types of air conditioners in the world - VRV - systems were offered by the company in 1982 by Daikin.

Milestones in history

1734 year. The first axial fans known in history are installed in the building of the English Parliament. It was powered by a steam engine and has worked without repair for over 80 years.

1754 year. Leonard Euler developed the fan theory, which formed the basis for calculating modern mechanical ventilation systems.

1763 year. Mikhail Lomonosov publishes his work "On the free movement of air in the mines noted." The ideas presented in this work formed the basis for the calculation of natural ventilation systems.

1810 year. The hospital in Derby, London suburb, has installed the first calculated natural ventilation system.

1815 year. Frenchman Jean Chabannes received a British patent for "a method for air conditioning and temperature control in homes and other buildings ...".

1852 Lord Kelvin developed the basics of using a chiller for space heating (heat pump). Four years later, the idea was practically implemented by the Austrian Rittenger.

1902 year. American engineer Willis Carrier developed the first industrial air conditioning unit.

1929 year. In the USA, General Electric has developed the first room air conditioner.

1931 year. The invention of a refrigerant that is safe for human health - freon. It made a real revolution in the development of climatic technology.

1958 Daikin introduced an air conditioner capable of operating not only in cold but also in heat according to the "heat pump" principle.

1961 Toshiba was the first in the world to start industrial production of air conditioners divided into two units, called split systems.

1966 year. Hitachi was the first in the world to offer a window air conditioner with dehumidification function. Four years later, she was the first to introduce this function in split systems.

1968 year. Daikin offered an air conditioner with one outdoor and two indoor units. This is how multisplit systems appeared.

1977 Toshiba introduces the world's first microprocessor-controlled air conditioner.

1981 Toshiba developed the variable speed compressor. In the same year, air conditioners equipped with them, called inverter air conditioners, appeared on the market.

1982 year. Daikin has developed and introduced into production a new type of central air conditioning systems VRF, allowing to solve the air conditioning and ventilation issues in a complex.

1998 year. Sanyo offered a VRF system with inverterless power control.

1995 year. A decision was made to stop using refrigerants that pose a danger to the ozone layer. In Europe, their production should be completely stopped by 2014.

2002 Haier introduced the world's first household air conditioner capable of increasing the oxygen concentration in a room.

And we have a story

In the Soviet Union, air conditioning has long been considered an unaffordable luxury that distracts the proletariat from the class struggle. So in 1940 for the publication of a number of materials on air conditioning the magazine "Heating and Ventilation" was destroyed. These articles were perceived as "propaganda of bourgeois views in technology", and until 1955 (when it turned out that Soviet ships were absolutely not adapted to sailing in the tropics) this topic remained under an unspoken ban.

Somewhat later, in 1963-65, in the city of Domodedovo near Moscow, the production of air conditioners for communication centers and missile control points was launched, the Equator plant in Nikolaev began to produce ship air conditioners, and, finally, several enterprises began to produce climatic equipment for aviation.

The production of air conditioners for industrial enterprises was mastered in Kharkov, and on a smaller scale at a number of industrial enterprises.

The production of household air conditioners on the territory of the Soviet Union began only in the 70s, after the plant built in Baku began manufacturing products under the license of the Japanese company Hitachi. In its best years, which fell on the mid-80s, the Baku plant produced 400,000 - 500,000 air conditioners per year, of which about 120,000-150,000 were exported. Most of the Soviet windows were sold to Cuba - about 700,000 pieces. China, Iran, Egypt, and Australia were major importers. Moreover, in other years, more than 10,000 devices were sent to the green continent.

Now it is fashionable to scold BKs for their large dimensions and high noise level, but it must be admitted that they turned out to be extremely unpretentious and durable. In Australia, some devices are still working! In addition, the Soviet prices pleased local farmers so pleasantly that in the homeland of kangaroos these products are still remembered with a kind word.

No air conditioner made in Japan, America, Israel or Korea has been so durable. Perhaps the fact is that all over the world the concept of the durability of manufactured equipment has undergone significant changes already at the turn of the 70-80s. If earlier they tried to do it for centuries, now the service life does not exceed the time of obsolescence. At the current rate of development of technology, this is no more than 10 years.

By the way, at least this fact speaks about the quality of bookmakers released in the 70-80s. The compressor plant (designed for 1,000,000 units per year) exported half of its production, fulfilling an order from Toshiba.

After the collapse of the USSR and the departure of the best specialists, the production of air conditioners in Baku began to decline and by 1997-98 it completely collapsed. Of the former 6,000 workers at the enterprise, no more than 500 people remained, engaged in the repair and maintenance of equipment. The era of BC is over.

Another Soviet project, now almost forgotten, was the Neva air conditioners, a small batch of which was made in Leningrad.

The first air conditioners made in Russia were Fedders windows, which were assembled in the city of Zheleznogorsk (Kursk region) in the early 90s. However, due to the low quality of products, production did not last long, and by 1996 it was completely curtailed. The baton was picked up in Elektrostal near Moscow. In 1997, at the Elemash plant, the production of split systems from Samsung assembly kits was mastered, and then the production of products under its own trademark was launched.

And, finally, in the last two years, the production of split-systems has begun in Fryazino (Rolsen), Khabarovsk (EVGO), Moscow (MV), Izhevsk (Kupol), Rostov-on-Don (Artel).

The history of air conditioning systems, in fact, goes back several millennia. At first, these were ordinary fans and fans, then much later fans on steam engines, a little later the natural ventilation system was invented, and quite recently an electric air conditioner appeared, the story of which we will now tell.

Refrigerant opening

In general, the principle of operation of the air conditioner was first discovered by the great and unique Michael Faraday. In his research, the scientist often used ammonia, which was widely used in refrigeration plants long after it. So it was the famous English physicist and experimenter who discovered that when ammonia passes from a liquid to a gaseous state (the process of evaporation when heated), it quite actively absorbs heat. With the reverse transformation (from gas to liquid), on the contrary, it releases.

Faraday's discovery in 1851 used by an American practitioner and part-time inventor - John Gorrie. While practicing as a doctor in hot Florida, he was so worried about the comfort of his patients that he decided to build an ice-making machine. The inventor even received a patent for his know-how, but he failed to use it for commercial purposes and thereby create the world's first air conditioner.

First air-cooling machines

Only two decades later in 1902 another American inventor, Willis Carrier, created the world's first air-cooling machine, which could in principle be considered the world's first industrial air conditioner. True, the machine was originally designed not to cool the air at all, but to reduce its humidity in the printing house in Brooklyn. But, as it turned out later, it not only created comfortable conditions for print media, but also became a real salvation for the workers of the printing house.

The Carrier air conditioner was such an overwhelming success that after just a year it was installed in theaters and supermarkets. In 1928 the air cooling machine was installed in the building of the American Congress, and a year later - in the Senate building.

The first household air conditioner

The first household air conditioner, the so-called "split system", which was partly indoors and partly outside, was created by General Electric in 1929... This design, which is very popular now, was not really a tribute to fashion. The fact is that in the first household air conditioner, the same ammonia was used as a refrigerant, the unique properties of which were discovered by Faraday. But since this substance in a gaseous state is very dangerous to human health, General Electric engineers decided to take the evaporator and condenser outside. So it turned out two blocks - a prototype of a modern split system.

The first household monoblock or window air conditioner appeared only a couple of years later. in 1931... It used safer freon as a refrigerant, so there was no point in dividing the device into two blocks. It is the window air conditioner that has won overwhelming popularity among consumers. It was easy to install and maintain, reliable in operation and unpretentious to environmental conditions.

The first heating air conditioner late 1950s released by the Japanese company Daikin. The device had a heat pump and could not only cool, but also heat the air. The mass production of split systems forgotten for a while began only in 1961when the Japanese company Toshiba created the first modern air conditioner with two separate units. Thanks to this development, users got rid of the noise that window air conditioners made.

The first multi-unit air conditioner (multi-split system) with one external and several indoor units appeared in 1968... The first household air conditioners in the former Soviet Union began to be produced in 1975 in the city of Baku. They were assembled under license from the Japanese firm Hitachi. These were monoblock units of the same type, differing only in size and power.

Even ancient people noticed that it is cooler in the shade, and coolness reigns in the cave even on hot days. This is where the principle of conditioning appeared. So people began to resort to such moves as filling the cellars with ice, the kings' servants armed themselves with fans. And so it all lasted until the middle of the 18th century, until the technological revolution began.

IN 1815 year Frenchman Jeanne Chabannes received a British patent for a method of "air conditioning and temperature control in homes and other buildings." But technically nothing then he was able to embody.

After in 1902 year American engineer Willis Carrier created an industrial refrigeration machine for a Brooklyn printing house in New York. It was designed to combat moisture that degraded print quality.

Further, the air conditioning system began to gain momentum in everyday life. So in 1924 year the air conditioning system was installed in one of Detroit's department stores. People began to walk there in a crowd. All of these devices are the ancestors of modern air conditioning systems.

The first room air conditioner, the ancestor of modern split systems, was released by General Electric in 1929 year... The refrigerant used was ammonia vapor, which is not safe for health. That is why the compressor and condenser were taken outside.

FROM 1931 year Freon, safe for the human body, was synthesized. The designers decided to collect all the components and assemblies of the air conditioner in one case. This is how the first window air conditioners appeared.

For a long time, the Americans were in the lead in the HVAC market, but at the end of the 50s the Japanese became the foremost, whose leadership continues to this day.

IN 1958 year Japanese company Daikin introduced the first heat pump. So the air conditioners started to work for heat.

from 1961 yearwhen the Japanese company Toshiba launched an air conditioner divided into two units. The noisiest part of the air conditioner (compressor) is taken out into the street. These are the first split systems. The noise of air conditioners has been reduced by an order of magnitude - the noisy part is now on the street. And the indoor unit is possible in any convenient place.

IN 1966 year Hitachi was the first in the world to offer a window air conditioner with dehumidification function.

IN 1968 year an air conditioner appeared on the market, in which several indoor units worked with one external unit at once. This is how multisplit systems appeared.

IN 1977 year Toshiba is the world's first microprocessor-controlled air conditioner.

IN 1982 year Daikin offered VRF systems, and in 2002 year Haier was the first in the world to offer a household air conditioner capable of increasing the oxygen concentration in a room.

For a long time, the Americans were in the lead in the HVAC market, but at the end of the 50s the Japanese became the foremost, whose leadership continues to this day.

IN 1958 year Japanese company Daikin introduced the first heat pump. So the air conditioners started to work for heat.

IN 1966 year Hitachi was the first in the world to offer a window air conditioner with dehumidification function.

IN 1968 year an air conditioner appeared on the market, in which several indoor units worked with one external unit at once. This is how multisplit systems appeared.

IN 1977 year Toshiba is the world's first microprocessor-controlled air conditioner.

IN 1982 year Daikin offered VRF systems, and in 2002 year Haier was the first in the world to offer a household air conditioner capable of increasing the oxygen concentration in a room.

The history of air cooling devices goes back more than one millennium. In the heat, fans, ice, vessels with evaporating water were used. The concept of "air conditioning" appeared in 1815. Frenchman Jean Chabannes patented the ventilation system of the premises. Thanks to him, the word “air conditioner” appeared in the lexicon, which meant a device that maintains a comfortable temperature in a room.

First steps towards the invention

The ventilation system of buildings, created according to scientific calculations, appeared in 1810 in one of the London hospitals. There were many scientists in England working to solve the problem of cooling air in homes. Michael Faraday actively experimented with ammonia, studying the change in its properties during the transition to various states of aggregation. A British chemist found that a substance absorbs heat when it evaporates and releases it into the environment when it condenses. The refrigerant was found, all that remained was to assemble the apparatus in which its properties would be applied.

In the United States, physician John Gorrie, in search of ways to treat tropical fever, was solving the problem of lowering the temperature and humidity in the hospital wards. His invention was a dry ice machine. Gorri designed a compressor that compresses air for cooling purposes. The principle of its operation is applied in all systems of refrigeration and climatic technology. The inventor did not advance further than creating artificial ice.

The appearance of the first air conditioner

It took almost 100 years from the moment of the first natural ventilation system to the invention of the air conditioner. Humanity owes the appearance of the apparatus to the American engineer Willis Carrier. Since childhood, he was fond of developing ventilation systems on the parent's farm.

After graduating from university, the gifted young man took up the practical development of devices that change air parameters.

In 1902, the world's first air conditioner appeared.

The machine was built for a Brooklyn print shop. The device was supposed to reduce the humidity of the air, which prevents the paint from drying. Together with the expected dryness, the room became cooler. Workers' productivity has increased in comfortable conditions. The news of the chiller became a sensation and spread around the world.

A year later, the air conditioner was installed in the hall of the Cologne Theater. The audience went en masse not to the show, but to the unusual sensations of the cool hall.

Carrier received a patent for his invention in 1906, even earlier he organized his own company Carrier Corportion. His first customers only demanded from the devices to reduce humidity. Such machines were installed in textile factories.

Since the invention of the centrifugal chiller by Carrier, the problem of equipping large rooms with climatic systems has been solved.

After installing an air conditioner in a Detroit department store, the store's revenue tripled. Soon, numerous commercial establishments and a government building were equipped with climate technology. By the late 1920s, air conditioning systems appeared in the US Senate and Congress. 300 American theaters have been equipped with Carrier products.

For several years, it was possible to enjoy the coolness on a sultry day only in a public place, until General Electric presented the first household split system. Carrier invented an air conditioner that used ammonia as the refrigerant. The harmful substance did a good job of dissipating heat, but it was a threat to human life. In this regard, the air conditioner was made of two blocks, the part with a compressor and a condenser was placed outside.

The invention of freon

The use of toxic substances in refrigeration units has repeatedly led to fatal poisoning.

In 1928, Thomas Midgley, an employee of the American company General Motors, managed to obtain a chemical compound later called freon.

The chlorofluorocarbon combination was distinguished by inertness, non-flammability and safety for human health. The term "refrigerant" was introduced. DuPon proposed the designation R (Refrigerant). The numbers and letters in the name define the molecular formula of the compound. The first refrigerant was designated Freon 12 or R12.

Carrier Corporation changed the design of its products in a short time. Its air conditioners became monoblock, a window model appeared. The use of safe freon as a refrigerant did not require block separation. Window models are still relevant today in African countries and India. They are distinguished by an affordable price, easy to install and maintain.

Technology development

For a long time, American designers remained pioneers in the development of climatic and refrigeration technology, until at the end of the 50s Japanese companies took over the initiative. Daikin has introduced a heat pump air conditioner to customers. This technique has received an additional heating mode. Mass production of split systems began in 1061.

Toshiba has shown a new level of comfort when using climatic equipment. The noisiest mechanisms were placed in one of the units of her air conditioners and were taken out of the room. The compressor, which vibrates and hums during operation, was mounted on a roof or an outer wall. A part with an evaporator remained in the room, operating in a comfortable sound range. The difference with window models was striking. In addition, the new model could be placed in a convenient location.

After 7 years, the Japanese company managed to create a multi-split system in which several internal ones were connected to one external unit.

Device and principle of operation

The main structural elements of climate control equipment have not changed since the air conditioner was invented and its serial production began. New materials, types of filters, electronic control units appeared, but the device remained the same.

Main nodes:

compressor - a unit that compresses the refrigerant to increase the pressure up to 15-25 atmospheres;
condenser - a device of an external unit, where gas passes into a liquid phase;
evaporator - a part of the indoor unit in which freon turns into gas;
fans - parts that create air flow;
copper main - the pipeline connecting the two parts of the split system serves as a route for the circulation of freon.

In monoblock models, all elements were placed in one housing, there was no need to install connecting pipes. The principle of operation of the air conditioner is the same for all models and types of equipment. The compressor compresses the freon, provoking an increase in pressure and temperature. The refrigerant enters the condenser where it cools down and turns into liquid. Then it enters the evaporator through a capillary tube. Being in the radiator, it passes into the gaseous phase, absorbing heat. From the evaporator it flows back to the compressor, the cycle repeats. The fans create a stream of air that is cooled when the evaporator is blown.

Thanks to the development of technology, a block has appeared that controls the operation of the compressor motor.

The first split system with inverter control was created by the Japanese company Toshiba in 1980.

The infinitely variable model featured low noise levels and high efficiency. A year after the development of the commercial air conditioner, a domestic version appeared. Inverter equipment has received tangible advantages: reduced wear of parts, electricity consumption, increased service life. After 7 years, the novelty accounted for 95% of sales.

The development and improvement of climatic technology continues. Models appear with intelligent controls, automatic sensors that do not require human intervention. The equipment is capable of accurately controlling any air parameters.