If someone were to ask you, “In which American city was Air Conditioning invented?” we’d bet that Buffalo would not be the first city you would name. In fact, it might be among the last, right? In a city that is known for the large amounts of snow we get each year, we are proud to say that we are also home to the air conditioner.
In 1902, the first electrical air conditioning unit was invented in Buffalo, New York. The air conditioner was designed by Willis Carrier while he was working at the Buffalo Forge Company for the Sackett-Wilhelms publishing company, Brooklyn, New York. It was initially designed to control humidity and temperature to improve the printing process by keeping paper dimensions and ink alignment in order. Soon after, air conditioning was adopted to keep the workplace efficient.
Carrier, a native of Angola, New York applied for a patent for his “Apparatus for Treating Air” in 1906 and the Carrier Air Conditioning company was born. We are still servicing and installing Carrier brand air conditioners 100 years later. Just one more reason to be proud to live in WNY!
