A History of Keeping Cool

Human beings do not like extremes of hot or cold. Unfortunately, the areas of the globe that have comfortable temperatures year round are too small to contain all of humanity. As long as humans have been building homes, they have been searching for ways to change the temperatures inside.

Raising the temperature inside of a building is relatively easy. Mankind built fires for cooking and used those same fires for heat. Thousands of years before Arizona air conditioning service was even a thought, men were experimenting in ways to make their homes cool. The ancient Romans built pipes into their walls so that the circulating water could lower the temperature. Other ancient cultures developed fans to circulate air. Having the fans blow over open cisterns caused the water to evaporate cooling the air. Builders designed houses to take advantage of weather patterns utilizing windows and passages to allow air to flow through them. Some homes incorporated wide verandas to provide shade from the sun. Since the air temperatures drop at night, sleeping porches were developed providing outside places to sleep while using screens to protect from bugs.

It was not until the 1800s that chemicals began to be used to lower air temperatures. Michael Faraday discovered compressed ammonia could be evaporated to cool the air. It would take until the twentieth century for practical Tempe air conditioning to be developed. Willis Carrier invented a system that not only lowered the air temperature, but also adjusted the humidity in the air. Early air conditioners used dangerous chemicals that could explode if they leaked. In 1928, Freon was developed which was considerably less volatile. For the first half of the 1900s, air conditioners were used mostly in manufacturing where fluctuating temperatures could adversely affect products produced and in large public buildings such as skyscrapers and theaters. It was only after World War II that home air conditioning became widespread. Air conditioning began to be seen as a necessity and not a luxury item. Now people could move in force into areas that previously would have been considered too hot to live in.

Air conditioning continues to evolve. For years people were only concerned with being able to set their thermostat Phoenix at a comfortable level. Now people want to maximize comfort while minimizing the environmental impact. Freon was discovered to be an ozone destroying chemical and is being phased out in favor of less dangerous chemicals. New systems are designed to use less electricity than older ones. Air conditioning led to architects and builders ignoring the features developed to keep homes cool before air conditioning. Now they are incorporating some of the old ideas to lower air conditioner use. Something as small as planting trees to screen the house from sun exposure can make a big difference in inside temperatures. People living in hot places will always need artificially cooled air, but it is becoming easier to use less energy and money to stay comfortable year round.