Air conditioning comes of age
As we head into summer and those hot nor’wester days, it is a good time to reflect on the history of air conditioning, a much loved and these days essential tool for comfortable living.
The first applications for chilling technology were focused on food refrigeration to limit the growth of bacteria.
Ice was first created from compressor technology developed in the 1830s but it was the invention in 1902 of equipment that could control room temperature and humidity that led to air conditioning as we know it today.
The man behind that latter invention was Willis Haviland Carrier, named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of the 20th century and recognised as the ‘‘father of modern air conditioning’’.
It was in the 1930s that widespread use of air conditioning kicked in, with the White House among those to first gain some respite from the summer heat.
A big step forward came in 1957 with the development of the rotary compressor, which made air conditioning units much smaller and more efficient.
Then in 1977 reverse cycle heat pumps were released, allowing both cooling and heating from the same machine.
Ten years later the Montreal Protocol was signed to protect the ozone layer from chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants, which were being used in air conditioning units at the time. Manufacturing and use of such units ceased in 1995.
In the decades since there have been continual improvements to the refrigerants used.
These days any new heat pump air conditioner should ideally be operating on R32, which has significantly reduced Global Warming Potential (GWP) and is also much more efficient. The switch from R410a to the R32 refrigerant has been taking place across the industry this year.
It was in this modern era of heat pumps that Gavin Lowe Energy was first established.
Gavin, a recently retired refrigeration engineer, opened the business in Christchurch in 1995 expecting to consult casually, making use of his lifetime of experience. But the business quickly developed into an operation advising on, supplying and installing heat pumps in homes and businesses across the region.
Gavin Lowe Energy is now at the fore of an expanding industry.
Managing director Karen Lowe – Gavin’s daughter – says her father was determined that only honest and appropriate advice was to be proffered, and this code of ethics still applies.
Next year the company marks its 25th anniversary with Gavin having retired for a second time but the family involvement still going strong.
In the 25 years since the company was established there has been a huge shift toward the use of air conditioners for cooling, Karen says.
This is partially due to hotter summers as the climate warms ‘‘but probably more due to how much we’ve become accustomed to being ‘cooled’ in our cars, offices, restaurants and in our homes’’, she says.
‘‘Once upon a time, summer was our quiet period when we would catch up after the winter rush. Now summer is as busy as winter.’’
❚ For a free consultation on cooling or heating for your home or business, call Gavin Lowe Energy on 03 337 9584. To find out more, visit the showroom at 48 Battersea St, Sydenham, or go online to gavinlowe.co.nz.