Addlestone Garage, 29/33 Brighton Road, Addlestone KT15 1PG
Gas Re-charges While-U-Wait
Repairs and Servicing carried out
TEL: 01932 847754 - 852991
The History of Air Conditioning in Cars
Early
automobiles were not exactly comfortable. They were open vehicles and their
skinny tires and rugged construction provided for a very rough ride. In winters,
passengers bundled up and in the summer, air conditioning was a breeze that
resulted from a top speed of 15 mph. And when the car companies started closing
up the hoods, things got worse. The interiors got very hot and something serious
needed to be done. They put up vents in the floor of the car, but this brought
in more dirt and dust than it did cool air.
More ingenious ideas followed. In 1884,
William Whiteley made an experimentation by placing blocks of ice in a holder
under horse carriages and blowing air inside by means of a fan attached to the
axle. A bucket near a floor vent was the automotive equivalent. An evaporative
cooling system followed next. The temperature-reducing effect of air passing
over water was adopted by a company called Nash and was called a Weather Eye.
But the first car with an actual
refrigeration system was the 1939 Packard. It consisted of a large evaporator,
called the 'cooling coil,' which took up the entire trunk space. The only
control was a blower switch. Packard, in fact, ran its advertising as,
"Forget the heat this summer in the only air-conditioned car in the world.
Cadillac followed suit in 1941 with 300
air-conditioned cars. All of these early air-conditioning systems had one big
drawback: there was no compressor clutch, so the pump was on when the engine was
running. To shut the system off, one had to stop, get out, open the hood, and
remove the belt. It wasn't until after WWII that Cadillac advertised a new,
high-tech feature: the air-conditioning controls. The controls were located on
the rear package shelf, which meant that the driver had to climb into the back
seat to shut the system off. Yet it was still better than reaching under the
hood.
The Harrison Radiator Division of
General Motors may be credited with developing the first efficient, affordable
unit that could be made in mass production. It was available as an option on all
1954 Pontiacs with V8s. It featured a two-cylinder reciprocating compressor, and
an all-brazed condenser. It also used a magnetic clutch, so when it was not in
use, no power was needed to drive the compressor, which improved performance and
fuel economy.
However, air conditioning continued to
be a rare option for many years. It wasn't until the late 70s and 80s that
air-conditioned cars became a craze. Systems were getting better and people
realized that they didn't really have to sweat it out because their
air-conditioning units did not run well. It's estimated that now over 80% of the
cars and light trucks in operation in the United States have air conditioning.
Today, heating and air-conditioning
systems are very efficient. Modern Automatic Temperature Control set-ups are
more dependable than the older vacuum and thermostatic creations. Computers also
insure that both the passenger and driver are comfortable, maintaining the
optimum temperature.
The future of automotive air
conditioning is changing, and for the better. Now there are new electronic and
compressor designs. The concern over the chlorofluorocarbon emissions and the
damage they cause to ozone layer has induced innovations in order to reduce the
emissions. Most cars today use a new refrigerant called R-134A, which contains
no chlorine. Auto repair businesses are also taking steps to reduce the amount
of R-12 or chlorofluorocarbons that escapes during service work.
Sister Companies to Addlestone Garage:
Occasional Classics - wedding & function cars SAP Motor Parts - Great value on-line car parts
Quality Suppliers:
TEL: 01932 847754 - 852991