1930s Carrier Air Conditioners

Willis Carrier

• Willis Carrier was a mechanical engineer who first designed the closest thing to modern air conditioning. In 1902, Carrier developed this “apparatus for treating air” for a publishing company in Brooklyn, New York. By the 1930s, his Carrier Company had gained a large share of the marketplace.

The Merger

• Carrier air conditioners would gain momentum in 1930 when the company became a major corporation. The Carrier Corporation was the result of a merger between Carrier Engineering Corporation, Brunswick-Kroeschell Company and York Heating and Ventilation Corporation. This merger gave the already well-known Carrier brand further reach across the country and expanded its resources so that it could continue to grow.

Atmospheric Cabinet

• In 1932, the Carrier Corporation sold its first “atmospheric cabinet.” This device was Carrier’s first residential room air conditioner. Carrier hit a snag when orders for the device stagnated because of the onset of the Great Depression. Production on the atmospheric cabinet actually stopped for a few years. But Carrier was able to pull through the depression and continue on as an air conditioning manufacturer.

Carrene 2

• In 1934, Carrier developed a new type of refrigerant known as Carrene 2. This refrigerant was far more efficient that the refrigerant being used in prior systems. The refrigerant was first used in a series air conditioners that were installed in the U.S. Court House in New York City. The machines ran for 16 years without a single service call.

Air On the Go

• Carrier manufactured various types of air conditioning innovations, including air on the go. Mobile air conditioning for various types of vehicles was something Carrier was involved in at the beginning of the decade and continued for many years. One of several mobile air projects was in 1930 when the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad ordered a Carrier air conditioner for the dining car in "The Martha Washington,” which traveled from Washington D.C. to New York. The air conditioner was able to cool a 93-degree train car down to 73 degrees in just 20 minutes.