Major Uses For Air Conditioning
During the twentieth century
air conditioning
has been used in many ways to enhance our quality of life. Since the 1950s
new houses and commercial buildings have been built very much with the
comfort of the occupants in mind. Although the technology to achieve a high
degree of comfort in buildings was available many years before this, it was
not really financially viable for mass production in domestic properties at
the low end of the market. Commercial air conditioning has a longer history,
but recent advances have improved the efficiency and reliability of the
equipment to a marked degree.
Air conditioning has actually been used in private homes since the times of
the Ancient Egyptians, although of course this was strictly for the rich and
powerful. It was only once air conditioning became established in commercial
use, in textile mills where temperature and humidity control are absolutely
essential, that it transferred into homes on any large scale. The years
immediately following the Second World War saw the greatest expansion in the
inclusion of air conditioning built in to new homes. These developments have
had a profound effect on the construction industry and on urban planning,
because it has allowed for the building of much taller buildings. This is
because the speed of the wind at high altitude makes natural ventilation
difficult.
As well as enjoying comfortable living conditions at home, many modern
workers carry out their daily job in an environment enhanced for optimum
comfort and performance. Scientific tests have now been carried out to
ascertain the optimum temperature conditions for different types of work
tasks to be carried out in and advanced systems of air conditioning have now
been developed to produce these conditions no matter what the weather
conditions outside. Of course there are some jobs where the comfort of the
workers is secondary to the needs of the process being carried out. Today's
air conditioning evolved from the need for temperature and humidity controls
in textile mills.
Of course the great change in the transportation habits of people in the
Western world has also led to another common use for air conditioning. Both
commercial public transport vehicles and private cars are now routinely
fitted with systems to filter, regulate and even purify the air. With the
modern lifestyle in the Western world meaning that more time is spent in
vehicles, the need has increased to make the environment in those vehicles
more comfortable. It is not only on hot days that the inside of a vehicle
becomes uncomfortable to be in. On a cool but sunny day the temperature can
still rise to an uncomfortable level in a fully enclosed vehicle. As well as
helping with temperature control, air conditioning can help with reducing
pollution levels in an environment where people are very much at risk.
From being an exclusive preserve of the rich and powerful in ancient times,
air conditioning has become so common that there can hardly be anyone in the
Western world who does not derive some benefit from it. Even if you live in
one of the few modern homes not equipped with it, the chances are that you
will work in a workplace fitted with some form of temperature and humidity
control. Air conditioning is one of the great benefits to have become
available to the masses in the twentieth century and with modern research
the ozone harming gases are being replaced with more environmentally
friendly options. There is no doubt that air conditioning will continue to
benefit humanity throughout the coming century.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Air Conditioning
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