If you are not familiar with the history of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, you may be under the impression that HVAC is a luxury that began in the twentieth century. The truth is, however, that throughout history ancient peoples have come up with innovative ways to ventilate indoor spaces.
One example of this is the hypocaust systems of Ancient Rome that helped to heat public bathhouses and saunas. Another example is the invention of the mechanical rotary fan during the Han Dynasty in Ancient China. Let’s take a look at some other amazing advancements in HVAC throughout the twentieth century that changed the way we live!
What do You Know About The Invention of The HVAC Unit?
The modern HVAC system as we know it today began its journey in 1902 when an engineer named Willis Carrier submitted a design for a way to cool production lines in factories.
He called the invention The Apparatus for Treatment of Air and applied for a patent for it two years later in 1904.
Aside from essentially inventing the modern HVAC system, Carrier also wrote a document in 1911 titled The Rational Psychrometric Formulae that discussed relative and absolute humidity as well as dew-point temperature in depth. This document and the discoveries named in it made it possible to design different kinds of HVAC systems to fit different needs. To this day, this document is still considered the most critical piece of writing ever produced about psychrometric formulae.
Can You Recognize The Parts of Your HVAC System?
Your HVAC system is made up of several interconnected parts that all serve a purpose in heating and cooling your home.
Your thermostat, usually mounted on an easy-to-reach spot on your wall, communicates with your furnace, telling it when to turn on to achieve your desired temperature.
The “furnace” is not necessarily a heater. It is also used to refer to the unit that houses both the heating and cooling mechanisms needed to adjust your temperature. The heat exchanger sucks in air, heats it and treats it, then blows it out into your home.
The evaporator coil is fed liquid refrigerant from the condenser unit through refrigerant lines, which it uses to cool the air that is sucked into the system. Once the refrigerant cools the air, it gets blown out into your home. Air ducts are the passageways through which the air travels before exiting through vents into different rooms.
Are You Still Relying on an Old Air Conditioner?
If you are relying on an HVAC system that is more than fifteen years old, you may notice that your home is never a consistent and comfortable temperature anymore.
This is because the older your HVAC system gets, the harder it is for it to cool or heat your home, which also drives up your energy costs.
That’s why replacing your HVAC systems every fifteen to twenty years is imperative! If you’re not sure how old your HVAC unit is, you may be able to find the manufacture date printed on the manufacturer nameplate tag attached to the unit. Have questions about Air Conditioning replacement or installation? Give TR Miller Heating and Cooling a call today at (815) 265-6129 to speak with an HVAC professional in Plainfield.
