Air conditioning was invented in America, but not to keep people cool

One day in the summer of 1902, an engineer in New York received a challenge regarding an industrial issue. Papers in a Brooklyn printer became wrinkled due to moisture in the air; hence, it became hard to do colour printing on them. What followed would quietly transform modern life.According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Willis Carrier invented the first air conditioning system to control atmospheric moisture. This invention happened when the engineer was trying to solve humidity problems at the Sackett & Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company in Brooklyn, New York. The invention was never originally intended to make people comfortable during summer heat. Instead, it was built to stabilise paper and improve printing quality.At that moment, Carrier was employed by the Buffalo Forge Company. The system he designed included cooled coils and humidity regulation in the plant building. According to Willis Carrier, the system maintained 55 percent humidity all year.A solution for paper, not peopleThe problem facing the publishing company was surprisingly simple. The paper would expand and contract in humid conditions, leading to misalignment of coloured inks when printing. As reported, Carrier's machine addressed this problem by removing excess moisture from the air.However, it did not take long for the innovation to show its true value.As Smithsonian Magazine notes, although the technology was invented primarily to improve factory efficiency, it quickly became an integral part of everyday American life. Speaking to the magazine, author Salvatore Basile, author of Cool: How Air Conditioning Changed Everything, told the publication that air conditioning allowed people to “carry on very normal lives during the hot months”.Further refinements were carried out by Carrier himself. Reports claim that Carrier came up with the Rational Psychrometric Formulae, which form the scientific basis of modern air conditioning technology.Additionally, Carrier founded the Carrier Engineering Corporation alongside four other partners in 1915, which later became a leading air conditioner manufacturer. Earlier attempts to cool the airEven though Carrier is considered to be the inventor of modern air conditioning systems, he was not the first scientist to conduct research in the area. As reported, an early example of cooling techniques can be found in the experiments of John Gorrie, a doctor from Florida who tried various ways of lowering temperature in the 1840s when treating his patients who had contracted illnesses like malaria.At first, the doctor used imported ice delivered from northern regions to Florida. Yet, since this method required too much time and money, Gorrie developed a machine that would produce ice through compressors operated by steam, wind, water, or even horses.Gorrie patented his invention in 1851 and presented it in 1848. However, the invention never became commercially successful, partly because his main financial backer died before the technology could be widely developed.How air conditioning changed everyday lifeWhat started out as a process used in industries found its way into public places and even private residences. One of the earliest public demonstrations of air conditioning took place at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, where mechanical refrigeration was used to cool the Missouri State Building.Over the following decades, air conditioners found their way into cinemas, office spaces, department stores, and residential buildings. Reports state that the use of air conditioning would become more widespread in the United States during the mid-20th century, due to reduced costs and greater feasibility.Air conditioners have since become a necessity in many countries during extremely hot weather. They have also changed the way buildings are designed, workplaces operate, and urban life unfolds in many nations around the world.Yet its origins lie in a printing factory in Brooklyn, where an engineer simply wanted to prevent magazine pages from wrinkling.