100th Anniversary of Air Conditioning

RealPerseus writes "The Buffalo News reports today in this article that the 100th annivsary of air conditioning is upon us. Who would have thought that air conditioning was invented in Buffalo?"

Comments

lower temperature inside - what about outside?

[evalhalla]

Anybody knows whether there are studies about the impact that air conditioning may have on the climate? expecially in cities/towns.

At least the microclimate near air conditioned buildings is influenced: sometimes you can't just pass near them because of hot air.

I know that there are some places around the world where you couldn't live without AC, and that there are places where you need it for computers and other sensible stuff, but I feel that in most places it is abused. (Things like 18C inside when outside there is only a perfectly tolerable 25C)

Re:read this the other day...

[Detritus]

AC was also an important feature of the U.S. Navy's fleet submarines in World War II. By keeping the temperature and humidity down, it made the long war patrols in the Pacific bearable for the men and the equipment on the submarine.

A/C in cars

[Peyna]

While working at a General Motors truck plant last summer I noticed that nearly every truck we built had an air conditioner and a radio except for the ones we sent to Mexico. You would think somewhere as hot as mexico they would want A/C. At first I thought this was because nobody down there could afford it, but then I realized it's because they are more adapted to living in the heat than we are. IIRC most buildings in Mexico don't have A/C, but nobody really cares either.

Maybe all of us in the states like our A/C so much because most of us came from parts of Europe where it is a bit cooler most of the year than it is here.