Just the Tip of the Iceberg-The Complex History of Air

Conditioning
Air conditioning is taken for granted by most of us in the 21st century. The history of air
conditioning has a very long, complicated and interesting back-story. A-1 American Services the
leader in HVA Virginia !each, kno"s air conditioning like the back of our hand, so allo" us to
introduce a brief history of this lu#ury "e tend to take for granted, air conditioning. The $omans may
have been the pioneers of air conditioning, like many other things, and used hollo"ed-out "alls that
circulated cool air through a particular room to keep it cool. %n this article "e discuss the t"o most
important and interesting periods in air conditioning history& the harvesting of ice from lakes, ponds,
and icebergs to be distributed among the meat-packing and other industries 'and to individuals "ho
could afford it() and the advent of modern air conditioning through *illiam arrier+s ,air chiller,
device.
The ice trade, or fro-en "ater trade "as a booming, multi-million dollar-a-year industry in the 1.//+s.
%t centered on the retrieval of ice from fro-en ponds and streams in the 0astern 1nited 2tates and
3or"ay. After being cut from a fro-en lake or pond, and in rare cases even icebergs, it "as hauled by
boat to land, "here it "as stored in an ,ice house., 4rom here the ice traveled by barge or train to its
intended destination.
4rederic Tudor, 3e" 0ngland businessman, is credited "ith founding the industry in 1./5. %t turns out
he made a smart investment. %n only a fe" short years the industry spread to as for off as %ndia and
Australia, gaining him unimagined "ealth. %ce houses "ere built in the aribbean and other places in
hopes that the "ealthy 0uropean elite living there "ould en6oy the lu#ury of ice, to use in a variety of
applications. Among other things, the ice trade "as a boon to meat-packing industry, among others. The
meat, preserved through in the ice, could no" be sent internationally and sold there. 7f course, even
domestically, meat and other perishable foods "ere no" able to last longer and fresher. The ice
industry, despite its reach and popularity, "ould soon fall off the map almost overnight "ith the advent
of *illiam arrier+s ,air chiller, machine. 0ven in its infancy, his ,air chiller, machine had the
fundamental components of modern air conditioning Virginia !each systems.
%n 1829 *illis arrier convinced paramount pictures that his ,air chiller, invention "ould increase
summertime attendance in their cinemas. After their Times 2:uare flagship theater installed his
invention, ticket sales rose dramatically as audience members enthusiastically proved that arrier "as
right. ;ore sales meant huge profits "hich in turn brought more films, ushering in the <olden Age of
inema, all thanks to *illis arrier+s "ild idea. The story of the history of modern air conditioning
ended "ith arrier+s invention, but the future may hold different and more effective heating and air
conditioning Virginia !each systems.

The moral of arrier+s story is not 6ust that the success of inventions is intimately related "ith their
ability to create corporate profit, but also that the determination of people "ith great ideas to promote
and market their ideas is as important as the ideas themselves, much akin to the saying ,a gold mine
unharvested may as "ell be 6ust another cave.,
A-1 American Services is proud to say that "e have the most kno"ledgeable air conditioning Virginia
!each technicians of any HVA company in the area. And "hile the history of air conditioning may be
interesting, "hen your air conditioning breaks on the hottest day of summer...you 6ust don+t care ho" it
"orks or about its history, you 6ust "ant it fi#ed= A-1 American Services understands this, "hich is
"hy "e offer 2>?@, A59 emergency services *%TH71T charging any overtime= 2o "hen your A?
breaks, make the smart call and call the A-1 American 2ervices at @9@->29-2>//.






A-1 American Services provides air conditioning, heating and plumbing services, like drain cleaning
services to homes and businesses in the Hampton $oads Virginia cities of Virginia !each, hesapeake,
3orfolk, Bortsmouth, 2uffolk, 3e"port 3e"s and Hampton and north into *illiamsburg. A-1
American provides emergency service and repair, 2> hours a day, @ days a "eek, including "eekends
and holidays. A-1 American charges by the 6ob, not by the hour. A-1 American prides itself on
immediate response, punctuality, courtesy and customer satisfaction. Call today !"!-#$"-$#%%