Timeline of United States inventions (1890–1945)
Air conditioning is the cooling and de-humidification of indoor air for thermal comfort. Using a system of coils as a solution to cool and remove moisture from muggy air in a printing plant that was wrinkling magazine pages, Willis Carrier invented and manufactured the world's first mechanical air conditioning unit in 1902. Carrier's invention – encompassing the first system to provide man-made control over temperature, humidity, ventilation and air quality, was first installed as a solution to the quality problems experienced at a Brooklyn printing plant, Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company. Air conditioning not only spawned a company and an industry, but also brought about profound economic, social and cultural changes.
Weather Eye
In 1939, Nash added a thermostat to its system, making it the first thermostatic automobile climate control system. The Weather Eye "was the first truly good heating and ventilating system." Additionally, defoggers (defrosters) were incorporated with the introduction of the 3900 series cars that year. The Nash HVAC system was designed by Nils Eric Wahlberg and it continues to be the basis for use in modern automobiles. Nash included the first automatic temperature control for the airside of the heating system with the thermostat sensing the temperatures of the incoming outside air, the heater's discharge, and interior of the car; so that a change in any of these three air temperatures resulted an automatic adjustment to maintain passenger comfort. Nash's Conditioned Air System heater was now marketed as the "Weather Eye" and consumer sales literature explained that the thermostat's "mechanical eye" watched the weather, hence the name.