Willis Carrier: His Invention Touches Almost Every Aspect Of Our Lives

One of the most significant books in the historiography of the South, Ulrich Bonnell Phillips's Life and Labor in the Old South, begins with these words:

Let us begin by discussing the weather for that has been the chief agency in making the South distinctive. . . . The summers are not merely long but bakingly hot, with temperatures ranging rather steadily in the eighties and nineties of the Fahrenheit scale.

The early 20th century one-story Southern home, with its high-roof, wrap-around porch, and traditional "dog trot" breezeway, is a vernacular response to that bakingly hot summer. Homes of this type can still be found throughout the South. In fact contemporary construction in the region often incorporates its features in vestigial form. But what has made the South so popular these days? I believe in particular the subtropical climate remains the most powerful draw. The New South's social and political climates also contribute to the demographic shift. Still, Southerners must deal with the heat and humidity as do others impacted by urbanization, commercialism, and industrialization. Today that means most the United States and its inhabitants.  And that brings us to the significance of this week in the history of American invention and its application and impact in our lives.

On November 26, 1876, a son, Willis H. Carrier, was born into an old New England family. In 1902, Carrier developed an electrical system of conditioning air in a stiflingly hot and humid Brooklyn printing plant. The new environment ensured stability in the paper and the perfect alignment of four-color printing. It was soon a huge success in several industries that demanded such requirements. By the 1920s, air conditioning became popular in retail trade and entertainment, especially the movie theater. It was a small jump from commercial systems to home systems, and by the 1930s, air conditioning began a slow but steady increase in usage until the post World War II era when it boomed. In two generations, Carrier's application had impacted almost every facet of American life and spread quickly throughout the world in the second half of the century

From an environmental perspective, air conditioning made the South livable year round. One could work hard outside on a mid-summer Georgia day and find comfort in an air conditioned break at work and a cool, comfortable supper and evening at home. Today, we take this comfort for granted across the nation giving it attention only when it's time to change the filter or the compressor dies.

Carrier posing with a 1920 model chiller

Especially if you call the South "home," work in a highrise office or on your family farm, take a moment today to thank Willis for his contribution. It's an invention you're going to appreciate so very much in 2025 when that heat begins its sure progress to "bakingly" unbearable levels in the summer. 

For more information on the impact of air conditioning on the American experience check out this site:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/07/keepin-it-cool-how-the-air-conditioner-made-modern-america/241892/