National Care About Your Indoor Air Month – February 1, 2027

History of National Care About Your Indoor Air Month

The first air conditioning systems can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where passive air conditioning techniques were employed to cool homes and buildings. Over time, the techniques spread to the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, the Middle East, and Northern India. Ancient Romans also had methods for controlling indoor temperatures using their aqueduct system. These techniques were mostly employed by wealthy Romans who had the financial capacity to build and maintain the system.

In 1842, using compressor technology, John Gorrie, a Florida doctor, and inventor, created ice to cool air for his patients in his hospital in Apalachicola, Florida. He envisioned using this same technology to cool buildings in the United States. Although he obtained a patent for his invention in 1851, the death of his financier prevented him from realizing that vision. In 1901, Willis Carrier, an American engineer, created the first modern electrical air conditioning unit. The following year, he installed the system in the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing & Publishing Company in Brooklyn, New York. The air conditioning system helped control the indoor temperature and humidity of the printing plant. He later went on to establish the Carrier Air Conditioning Company of America.

In 1914, the home of Charles Gilbert Gates became the first residential building in the U.S. to house an air conditioning system. But it’s believed that the system was never used as the owner had died the year before. In 1945, Robert Sherman created a multi-purpose portable, in-window air conditioner that served as an air filter, dehumidifier, humidifier, and heater. As the prices of air conditioners became cheaper, more homes across the United States embraced the invention. As of 2019, 91% of U.S. households had air conditioning systems.